Juan Soto, Brandon Lowe named Players of the Week presented by Chevrolet
Twenty-one-year-old outfielder Juan Soto of the Washington Nationals has been chosen the National League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet,and All-Star second baseman Brandon Lowe of the Tampa Bay Rays has been named the American League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet. The announcements were made earlier today on MLB Network.
Soto earned his first career NL Player of the Week Award and is the first Nationals winner since his former All-Star teammate Anthony Rendon last season for the period ending August 25th. Juan became the first Washington outfielder to do so since All-Star Bryce Harper in September 2018. Lowe also claimed his first career weekly award and is the first Rays winner since his All-Star teammate Austin Meadows last year for the week ending September 8th.
Juan Soto, Washington Nationals (@juansoto_25)
- Posted a slash line of .462/.533/1.077 with 12 runs scored, 12 hits, a double, five home runs, 12 RBI and a stolen base over seven games played.
- Recorded his sixth career multi-homer game on Wednesday night against the New York Mets, tied for third-most among players younger than 22 years old in MLB history with Andruw Jones and Cody Bellinger. Only Hall of Famers Mel Ott (8) and Eddie Mathews (7) delivered more prior to their 22nd birthday.
- Enters play today with 60 doubles and 62 home runs across his three-year career. Became the sixth player in Baseball history to reach those totals before turning 22, joining Mike Trout, Alex Rodriguez and Tony Conigliaro, as well as Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr. and Ott.
- In yesterday’s win against the Baltimore Orioles, reached base four times with three runs scored and a pair of hits, his sixth multi-hit effort of the season. Enters action today in the midst of a five-game streak with at least one run and hit.
Brandon Lowe, Tampa Bay Rays (@sweet_n_lowe5)
- Batted .448 (13-for-29) with 10 runs scored, four doubles, four home runs, 10 RBI, three walks and a 1.000 slugging percentage across seven games.
- Enters play today in the midst of an eight-game hitting streak dating back to August 9th, leading the Rays to a 7-1 record during his torrid stretch.
- Homered in four consecutive games from Wednesday-Saturday, becoming just the seventh player in franchise history to accomplish the feat and the first since Evan Longoria in June 2016. Joined Fred McGriff (1999) as the only two players to do so while also logging at least two hits in each contest.
- Lowe paces the Majors with 16 extra-base hits entering play today. Amongst his AL counterparts, ranks first in total bases (59), runs scored (19) and OPS (1.142), and second in slugging percentage (.738).
Other noteworthy NL performances last week included All-Star outfielder Mookie Betts (.379, 8 R, 4 HR, 9 RBI) of the Los Angeles Dodgers; All-Stars Bryce Harper (.480, 10 R, 5 XBH, 7 RBI), Aaron Nola (2-0, 0.60 ERA, 18 SO, 15.0 IP) and J.T. Realmuto (.310, 6 R, 4 HR, 11 RBI) of the Philadelphia Phillies; outfielder Jesse Winker (.667, 5 R, 4 HR, 1.750 SLG) of the Cincinnati Reds; infielder Luis Guillorme (.588, 10 H, 2 2B, 4 RBI) and first baseman/outfielder Dominic Smith (.375, 6 R, 7 XBH, 8 RBI) of the Mets; All-Stars Nolan Arenado (.375, 4 R, 5 XBH, 9 RBI) and Charlie Blackmon (.417, 6 R, 10 H, 4 RBI) of the Colorado Rockies; and Juan’s teammate Trea Turner (.433, 10 R, 13 H, 6 RBI).
Other noteworthy AL performances for the week included outfielder Eloy Jiménez (.391, 4 R, 4 HR, 9 RBI) of the Chicago White Sox; All-Star starting pitcher Lance Lynn (1-0, 1 CG, 2 H, 0 BB) of the Texas Rangers; shortstop Bo Bichette (.563, 6 R, 3 HR, 7 RBI) of the Toronto Blue Jays; outfielder Stephen Piscotty (.316, 4 R, 3 HR, 11 RBI) of the Oakland A’s; backstop Pedro Severino (.364, 8 H, 3 XBH, 10 RBI) of the Orioles; outfielder Franmil Reyes (.556, 5 R, 3 HR, 6 RBI) of the Cleveland Indians; starter Lance McCullers Jr. (1-0, 1.42 ERA, 12 SO, 12.2 IP) of the Houston Astros; starter Randy Dobnak (2-0, 2.61 ERA, 10.1 IP, 2 BB) of the Minnesota Twins; and Rendon (.400, 7 R, 5 HR, 7 RBI) and Trout (.333, 6 R, 4 HR, 8 RBI) of the Los Angeles Angels.
PLAY OF THE WEEK
Backhanded stop and throw across the diamond by David Fletcher of the Los Angeles Angels
August 15th vs. LAD – Watch It Here
Infielder David Fletcher of the Los Angeles Angels earned his first career Play of the Week honor and is the first Angels player to accomplish the feat since the award was introduced in 2019. With one out in the top of the fourth inning of Wednesday night’s tilt against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Fletcher made a backhanded stop before delivering an off-balance throw across the diamond to retire the speedy Mookie Betts. Additional Play of the Week candidates included Shogo Akiyama’s leaping catch at the wall to rob an extra-base hit; Ian Happ’s diving catch on a slicing line drive in left field; Chad Pinder’s reaching-over-the-wall catch in foul territory; Jon Berti’s sliding catch before doubling up the runner at first; and Jurickson Profar’s diving catch in shallow left field.