Baseball's June Birthday Dream Teams
Lots of great players have June birthdays. But who would make an all-star team amongst active players? And who would make an all-time June Birthdays dream team?
Issue #183
This is the last installment in my series of active and all-time dream teams for players born during each month. You can see the 11 previous articles here: May, April, March, February, January, December, November, October, September, August, July.
So how about June? Demographic oddities aside, on average you'd expect such rosters to be composed of about 1/12th of the top players during whatever period is under consideration. Starting with an active players June Birthday dream team, here is the roster I came up with:
The strongest non-pitcher position here is clearly shortstop. Three of the top SS in the game today were born in June: Trea Turner, Bobby Witt Jr., and Gunnar Henderson. For the purposes of this roster, I’ve shifted Henderson over to the 3B since the other candidates there are not as strong, and last year Gunnar essentially split in half his playing time between 3B and SS.
Who aren’t nearly as strong are the 2B candidates, as I found really no outstanding primary 2B to include. I’ve listed the perpetually injured Anthony Rendon there, as he played more often at 2B during his best seasons with the Nationals. Turner has played some CF and 2B in his career, and the Cub’s slugger Christopher Morel has played a mix of CF, 3B, and 2B. There are also numerous guys that I listed as utility players who have experience at 2B, including Jorge Mateo, Josh Rojas, and the Urías brothers, Ramón and Luis—who interestingly were born on the same date (June 3rd), three years apart.
A starting lineup for this roster might look like this:
Trea Turner 2B
Bobby Witt Jr. SS
Gunnar Henderson 3B
Yordan Alvarez DH
Tyler O'Neill LF
Josh Naylor 1B
Christopher Morel / Harrison Bader / Jake Meyers CF
Avisail Garcia / Will Benson RF
Jonah Heim / Ryan Jeffers C
I couldn’t see benching two of the three outstanding shortstops, so I've got Turner shifting over to 2B and Henderson as noted slotted in at the hot corner. There is solid power in the 4/5/6 spots with Alvarez, O’Neill, and Naylor, and a pair of pretty good hitting catchers in Heim and Jeffers.
On the pitching side, I listed Jacob deGrom as the ace based on his career accomplishments—even though that career has been limited by many injuries. Aaron Nola is putting together a solid career so I think deserves the second spot, and then you could debate the next few especially given Luis Gil’s outstanding start to the 2024 season. Overall, there certainly is no lack of solid active starting pitchers who were born in the month of June.
This June birthdays dream team’s bullpen on the other hand isn’t quite as well-stocked with stars. I gave Blake Treinen the top spot as he currently has a career 2.79 ERA and 150 ERA+, and had that outstanding 2018 campaign for Oakland where he notched 38 saves with a 0.78 ERA. But how you rank the rest of the relievers I listed above could certainly be debated.
Here are the players shown above in order by birthday:
June 1: SP Andrew Abbott
June 2: RP Chris Martin
June 3: CF Harrison Bader
June 3: 3B/2B/SS Ramón Urías
June 3: 3B/2B/SS Luis Urías
June 3: C Ryan Jeffers
June 3: SP Luis Gil
June 4: SP Aaron Nola
June 4: SP Freddy Peralta
June 5: 3B Royce Lewis
June 5: SP Joe Ryan
June 5: SP Andrew Heaney
June 6: 3B/2B Anthony Rendon
June 9: RP Joe Kelly
June 12: RF Avisaíl García
June 12: SP Aaron Civale
June 13: C James McCann
June 13: SP Drew Smyly
June 14: SS Bobby Witt Jr.
June 14: RP Héctor Neris
June 15: 1B/LF Dominic Smith
June 16: OF Will Benson
June 17: SP Yusei Kikuchi
June 17: RP Andrew Chafin
June 18: CF Jake Meyers
June 18: RP Matt Moore
June 19: SP Jacob deGrom
June 20: RP Félix Bautista
June 21: SP Garrett Crochet
June 22: LF Tyler O'Neill
June 22: 1B/RF Josh Naylor
June 23: SS Tim Anderson
June 23: SS/2B/OF Jorge Mateo
June 24: RF Wilyer Abreu
June 24: CF/3B/2B Christopher Morel
June 25: RP Daniel Bard
June 26: RP Ryan Thompson
June 27: DH/LF Yordan Alvarez
June 27: C Jonah Heim
June 29: SS/3B Gunnar Henderson
June 29: 3B/1B José Miranda
June 29: SP Tanner Houck
June 29: RP Brooks Raley
June 30: SS/2B/SS Trea Turner
June 30: 3B/2B/OF Josh Rojas
June 30: RP Blake Treinen
All-Time June Birthdays Dream Team
What about an all-time June birthdays dream team? Should any of the active players above be included?
Lots of great names here, starting with Lou Gehrig who many still consider the greatest 1B ever. Other Hall of Famers amongst the position players include 1B/3B Harmon Killebrew, SS Derek Jeter, 3B Wade Boggs, LF/RF Billy Williams, LF Lou Brock, C Bill Dickey, C Roger Bresnahan, and Negro Leagues star CF Willard Brown.
There is also solid depth at most positions, with various other star players including the likes of RF Dave Parker, CF Jim Edmonds, LF Bobby Veach, C Thurman Munson, and 1B Carlos Delgado, amongst others.
That said, like the roster for active players born in June, 2B is a notable weak spot for this all-time dream team. Ian Kinsler was a fine player who scored 100+ runs six times, and provided a nice combination of power and speed with 257 HR and 243 SB over his 14-year career. A four-time All-Star, he was also good defensively, taking home AL Gold Glove Awards late in his career in 2016 and 2018. But with a career .269/.337/.440 slash line and 107 OPS+ he is at least arguably the weakest starter on this roster. Backing him up is another recent 2B who compiled 200+ HR and SB in his career, Brandon Phillips. A three-time All-Star, he was also good defensively, earning him three Gold Glove Awards. After Kinsler and Phillips the top 2B candidates were Mark Ellis, Mark Grudzielanek, and Dave Cash.
Starting lineups, against righties and lefties, might look like this:
Against RHP:
Wade Boggs 3B (L)
Derek Jeter SS (R)
Willard Brown CF (R)
Lou Gehrig 1B (L)
Carlos Delgado DH (L)
Dave Parker (L) / Babe Herman (L) / Ken Singleton (S) RF
Billy Williams / Bobby Veach / Lou Brock / Ken Williams (L) LF
Bill Dickey C (L)
Ian Kinsler 2B (R)
Against LHP:
Wade Boggs 3B (L)
Derek Jeter SS (R)
Willard Brown CF (R)
Lou Gehrig 1B (L)
Harmon Killebrew DH (R)
Dave Parker (L) / Babe Herman (L) / Ken Singleton (S) RF
Pete Browning / Pedro Guerrero LF (R)
Thurman Munson C (R)
Ian Kinsler 2B (R)
Lots of options also means some tough choices for these lineups. For instance, the top four LF candidates all hit left handed, so there weren’t any natural platoons there. I could have listed Billy Williams, Bobby Veach, Lou Brock, and Ken Williams as sharing the position in both lineups, but I opted to include the right-handed hitting Pete Browning and Pedro Guerrero in the lineup against southpaws.
I kept the first four spots the same in both lineups, as I think Boggs, Jeter, Brown, and Gehrig make a very solid top of the order no matter who is pitching. I platooned Killebrew and Delgado at DH in the fifth spot, and also platooned the two great Yankee catchers Bill Dickey and Thurman Munson.
Here are the position players in the depth chart above listed in order by birthday, with a few career stat highlights for each:
June 5: CF Ray Lankford (L) 38.2 WAR, 238 HR, 258 SB, .272/.364/.477, 123 OPS+
June 6: C Bill Dickey (L) 56.4 WAR, 202 HR, .313/.382/.486, 127 OPS+
June 7: C Thurman Munson (R) 46.1 WAR, 113 HR, .292/.346/.410, 116 OPS+
June 9: RF Dave Parker (L) 40.1 WAR, 339 HR, 154 SB, .290/.339/.471, 121 OPS+
June 10: RF Ken Singleton (S) 41.9 WAR, 246 HR, .282/.388/.436, 132 OPS+
June 11: SS José Reyes (S) 37.5 WAR, 145 HR, 517 SB, .283/.334/.427, 103 OPS+
June 11: C Roger Bresnahan (R) 42.1 WAR, 212 SB, .279/.386/.377, 126 OPS+
June 15: 3B Wade Boggs (L) 91.4 WAR, 3010 hits, .328/.415/.443, 131 OPS+
June 15: LF/RF Billy Williams (L) 63.6 WAR, 426 HR, .290/.361/.492, 133 OPS+
June 15: CF Brett Butler (L) 49.7 WAR, 558 SB, .290/.377/.376, 110 OPS+
June 15: C Lance Parrish (R) 39.5 WAR, 324 HR, .252/.313/.440, 106 OPS+
June 17: CF/LF Pete Browning (R) 40.6 WAR, 258 SB, .341/.403/.467, 163 OPS+
June 17: SS Dave Concepción (R) 40.1 WAR, 321 SB, .267/.322/.357, 88 OPS+
June 18: LF Lou Brock (L) 45.3 WAR, 3023 hits, 149 HR, 938 SB, .293/.343/.410, 109 OPS+
June 19: 1B Lou Gehrig (L) 113.7 WAR, 493 HR, .340/.447/.632, 179 OPS+
June 22: 2B Ian Kinsler (R) 54.1 WAR, 257 HR, 243 SB, .269/.337/.440, 107 OPS+
June 25: 1B Carlos Delgado (L) 44.4 WAR, 473 HR, .280/.383/.546, 138 OPS+
June 26: SS Derek Jeter (R) 71.3 WAR, 3465 hits, 260 HR, 358 SB, .310/.377/.440, 115 OPS+
June 26: CF Willard Brown (R) 20.2 WAR, .351/.398/.579, 178 OPS+
June 26: RF Babe Herman (L) 39.5 WAR, 181 HR, .324/.383/.532, 141 OPS+
June 26: C Jason Kendall (R) 41.7 WAR, 189 SB, .288/.366/.378, 95 OPS+
June 27: CF Jim Edmonds (L) 60.4 WAR, 393 HR, .284/.376/.527, 132 OPS+
June 27: 3B/SS Rico Petrocelli (R) 39.1 WAR, 210 HR, .251/.332/.420, 108 OPS+
June 28: 1B Mark Grace (L) 46.4 WAR, 173 HR, .303/.383/.442, 119 OPS+
June 28: LF Ken Williams (L) 42.7 WAR, 196 HR, 154 SB, .319/.393/.530, 138 OPS+
June 28: 2B Brandon Phillips (R) 28.4 WAR, 211 HR, 209 SB, .275/.320/.420, 95 OPS+
June 29: 1B/3B Harmon Killebrew (R) 60.3 WAR, 573 HR, .256/.376/.509, 143 OPS+
June 29: LF Bobby Veach (L) 48.1 WAR, 195 SB, .310/.370/.442, 127 OPS+
June 29: 1B/3B/OF Pedro Guerrero (R) 34.5 WAR, 215 HR, .300/.370/.480, 137 OPS+
June 30: SS/2B Tony Fernández (S) 45.3 WAR, 246 SB, .288/.347/.399, 101 OPS+
Beyond all of these position players that I included, several others at least deserve honorable mention, including: SS Mark Belanger, SS Ed McKean, LF/CF Dusty Baker, 1B Wally Joyner, 3B Don Money, 1B Andres Galarraga, 1B Frank McCormick, 1B/CF Darin Erstad, 3B Aramis Ramirez, LF Del Ennis, DH/OF Don Baylor, LF Carlos Lee, LF/1B Ryan Klesko, LF Garret Anderson, DH Travis Hafner, LF Hideki Matsui, C Tony Pena, C Terry Kennedy, LF Raúl Ibañez, LF Frank Thomas, and Negro Leagues stars CF/LF Valentin Dreke, 1B Ed Rile, LF Vic Harris, OF/1B Steel Arm Davis, RF/CF Will Bill Wright.
For the starting pitchers, you could certainly debate how to rank the various guys I included on the dream team roster above. I gave the top spot to “King” Carl Hubbell, but you could also make a case for Negro Leagues star Bill Foster. After those two I rounded out the top five with Andy Pettitte (based on his lengthy and solid career), Jacob deGrom (based on peak performance seasons), and Don Newcombe (Rookie of the Year in 1949 and both Cy Young and MVP winner in 1956). But a starting rotation case could also be made, based on peak performance seasons, for Eddie Cicotte and Jack Chesbro.
Beyond the nine starting pitchers I listed above, there are several others who at least deserve honorable mention, including: Derek Lowe, Carlos Zambrano, Jim Maloney, Dean Chance, Howie Pollet, Jerry Reuss, Rick Sutcliffe, Tim Lincecum, Van Mungo, Eddie Lopat, Mel Parnell, Kerry Wood, Aaron Nola, 1920s Negro Leagues star Dave Brown, and 19th century old-timers Charlie Buffinton and Theodore Breitenstein.
Here are the starters I chose in order by birthday and with some career numbers for each:
June 2: Larry Jackson (R) 52.6 WAR, 194-183 W-L, 3.40 ERA, 113 ERA+
June 5: Jack Chesbro (R) 42.5 WAR, 198-132 W-L, 2.68 ERA, 110 ERA+
June 12: Bill Foster (L) 45.6 WAR, 110-56 W-L, 2.63 ERA, 164 ERA+
June 14: Don Newcombe (R) 30.1 WAR, 153-96 W-L, 3.57 ERA, 114 ERA+
June 15: Andy Pettitte (L) 60.7 WAR, 256-153 W-L, 3.85 ERA, 117 ERA+
June 19: Eddie Cicotte (R) 58.0 WAR, 209-148 W-L, 2.38 ERA, 123 ERA+
June 19: Jacob deGrom (R) 42.1 WAR, 84-57 W-L, 2.53 ERA, 155 ERA+
June 22: Carl Hubbell (L) 68.8 WAR, 253-154 W-L, 2.98 ERA, 130 ERA+
June 29: Dizzy Trout (R) 45.3 WAR, 170-161 W-L, 3.23 ERA, 124 ERA+
The bullpen for this June Birthdays All-Time Dream Team is not as strong as some other months’ versions. Doug Jones, Steve Cishek, Bryan Harvey, Jim Johnson, Jonathan Broxton and others all had several fine seasons, but none are ever mentioned in conversations about the all-time elite relievers. And again, there were some others that I didn’t include who at least deserve honorable mention, such as: Heathcliff Slocumb, Joe Sambito, Elías Sosa, Jeremy Affeldt, Mike Myers, Rick Honeycutt, and the still active Blake Treinen and Héctor Neris.
Here are the relievers I included in order by birthday and with some numbers for each:
June 2: Bryan Harvey (R) 177 SV, 2.49 ERA, 162 ERA+
June 2: Mike Stanton (L) 84 SV, 3.92 ERA, 112 ERA+
June 16: Jonathan Broxton (R) 118 SV, 3.41 ERA, 121 ERA+
June 18: Steve Cishek (R) 133 SV, 2.98 ERA, 137 ERA+
June 20: Kevin Gregg (R) 177 SV, 4.24 ERA, 102 ERA+
June 24: Doug Jones (R) 303 SV, 3.30 ERA, 129 ERA+
June 25: Alejandro Peña (R) 74 SV, 3.11 ERA, 119 ERA+
June 27: Jim Johnson (R) 178 SV, 3.79 ERA, 111 ERA+
June 28: Fred Gladding (R) 109 SV, 3.13 ERA, 114 ERA+
All data is from Baseball-Reference.com, and also their subscription service Stathead.com. If you are a big sports fan, be sure to check out the latest features at Stathead and the Sports Reference family of sites.
Did you know? I wrote a book with the same title as this Substack newsletter / blog: Now Taking the Field: Baseball’s All-Time Dream Teams for All 30 Franchises. It was published in early 2019, by ACTA Sports, the publisher of the annual Bill James Handbook and other popular titles. You can learn more about it at www.NowTakingTheField.com, or buy directly at Amazon and other booksellers.
