In what Rockies fans are hoping won’t simply be a consolation prize for the MVP race, Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado was named the National League Player of the Month.

Interestingly, the official MLB Twitter account cited different stats for Arenado than the official MLB Communications Twitter account.

For our purposes here, we’ll cite MLB’s, as the home run and RBI totals are higher. (MLB included October numbers, in point of fact.)

His 12 home runs powered Arenado to a tie for first in the National League for the season – he ended locked with Washington’s Bryce Harper at 42.

Arenado’s 35 RBI helped him outdistance the rest of baseball. His 130 on the year were the best in the big leagues.

Baseball will announce postseason awards sometime in November and we think Arenado has a case for National League MVP. Sadly, there are some things working against the young third baseman that might prevent that.

Nevertheless, Arenado should be extremely proud. This year he proved he’s more than just a glove. He’s a legitimate MVP candidate.

The award was Colorado’s second of the year. Carlos Gonzalez earned NL Player of the Month in July.