Twins slugger Austin Dean voted KBO's top player for June

Austin Dean of the LG Twins celebrates after hitting a solo home run against the Kiwoom Heroes during the clubs' Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap

Austin Dean of the LG Twins was named Korean baseball's best player for June on Wednesday.

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced Dean as its Player of the Month for June. The American first baseman, now in his fourth KBO season, earned 19 out of 35 votes cast by the media, and 125,490 out of 488,764 votes from fans, for the total voting points of 39.98. Kim Do-yeong of the Kia Tigers was the runner-up with 25.11 points — from one vote from the media and 231,514 votes from fans.

In June, Dean led the KBO with 34 RBIs and a .798 slugging percentage, and tied Kim for the lead with 11 home runs and 34 hits.

Dean was held hitless in only four of his 25 games in June. He ranked fourth in both batting average (.382) and on-base percentage (.462) for the month.

With Dean leading the charge, the Twins scored the most runs in June with 147 and tied for the KBO's best record for the month at 15-10-0 (wins-losses-ties).

For the season, Dean is the league leader with 27 home runs, one more than Kim, and a .669 slugging percentage.

This is Dean's second career Player of the Month honor. His previous win came in August 2024.

Dean will receive 3 million won ($1,990) in prize money and a trophy.