Scooter, Gleyber earn league POTW honors

A pair of second basemen broke out the lumber this week and amazed fans with a power showcase at the plate.
Major League Baseball on Tuesday announced that Reds slugger Scooter Gennett was the latest National League Player of the Week Award winner, and Yankees rookie phenom Gleyber Torres earned the American League Player of the Week Award, both presented by W.B. Mason.
This is the second time that Gennett, 28, has won the award this season (also week of May 13). He won the prestigious honor for the first time last June after becoming the 17th player in MLB history to hit four home runs in a game against the Cardinals.
Reds teammate Joey Votto took home the award on April 30.
• Previous winners: AL | NL
Gennett finished this week with a blistering .500 (12-for-25) batting average. He also clubbed three home runs and 10 RBIs over the six-game stretch. The veteran infielder finished the week first in hits, batting average and slugging percentage. During the week, Gennett became the sixth player in franchise history to homer and collect multiple RBIs in four consecutive games.

"It's just baseball. There's ups and downs," Gennett told MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. "I could go in there and look at video of the times I don't do good or strike out. But lately, I've been looking at the times I do good, just trying to feed myself positive thoughts and vibes. This is a game of failure. For me lately, I've looked at the stuff when I am doing good. It seems to help. I will stick to that."
Torres, 21, continued his meteoric rise in New York as he became the youngest player in AL history to homer in four straight games. During the week, Torres batted .368 (7-for-19) with five home runs and nine RBIs over six games.
This season, Torres has been the one of the biggest suprises in the powerful Yankees lineup. He has quickly ascended up the batting order, recently hitting fifth behind Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.

Torres is batting .317 with nine home runs and 24 RBIs in 104 at-bats this season. He also owns a .985 OPS, and 12 of his 63 hits have gone for extra bases.
Torres leads all rookies with 1.7 wins above replacement (WAR), and he is second among rookies in home runs and RBIs. He also has earned the confidence of Yankees manager Aaron Boone.
"I've had that conversation with him where he says, 'I've been preparing for this my whole life,' and certainly the last couple of years coming up in the Minor Leagues," Boone said. "I think he just plays the game with a lot of confidence. I think his intelligence is very evident. When you combine intelligence and instincts and talent, you're looking at what has been a very special player for us."