SEATTLE – Recognition of a strong June, during which he posted a .913 OPS with seven homers and 20 RBIs, arrived for Kazuma Okamoto on Friday morning, when he was named the American League’s Rookie of the Month. 

He’s the first Toronto Blue Jays player to pick up the award since Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in July 2018 and his 19 homers so far this season are already the fifth-most by a rookie in team history. Combined with the way he’s acclimated to third base, he’s delivering as expected at the plate and beyond that in the field.

“He's adjusted very well offensively and I think that the defensive part kind of gets put on the back burner because of the homers and the RBIs, but he's been really damn good,” said manager John Schneider. “We always talk about him adjusting to pitches and pitch shapes and seeing guys he's never seen, but he's also adjusted really well to the speed of the game and understanding when he needs to be quick, when he needs to be slow and then just where he needs to be. He's been........

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