Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Noah Syndergaard named W.B. Mason Players of the Week

Rookie third baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays has been chosen the W.B. Mason American League Player of the Week and starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard of the surging New York Mets has been named the W.B. Mason National League Player of the Week. The announcements were made earlier today on MLB Network.

Guerrero earned his second AL Player of the Week Award of the 2019 season, previously doing so for the period ending May 20th. Vlad Jr. is the first Blue Jays player to earn multiple weekly honors in the same season since Josh Donaldson during his AL MVP-winning 2015 season, and is the first rookie to accomplish the feat in Club history. Syndergaard claimed his fourth career NL Player of the Week Award and his second this year, most recently doing so for the week ending May 5th. Noah is the first Mets hurler to earn a pair of weekly awards in the same campaign since Dwight Gooden during his 1985 NL Cy Young Award-winning season.

In recognition of their Player of the Week Awards, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Noah Syndergaard will each be awarded a specially engraved watch courtesy of Artinian.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays (@vladdyjr27)

• Batted .500 (13-for-26) with five runs scored, three doubles, three home runs, 11 RBI, two walks and a .962 slugging percentage over six games played.
• In 21 games since his record-setting 91-homer performance at the 2019 T-Mobile Home Run Derby, has posted a second-half slash line of .361/.418/.614 with six doubles, five home runs and 24 RBI.
• Enters play today in the midst of an eight-game hitting streak dating back to July 27th, including six multi-efforts and four three-hit outputs.
• Notched 16 RBI across a five-game stretch from July 27th-August 1st. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, became the youngest player in Major League history to tally 16-or-more RBI in five contests.
• In Thursday’s tilt against the Baltimore Orioles, batted 3-for-5 with a double, two home runs and four RBI. Became the third-youngest American Leaguer to log at least 10 total bases in a single game, older than just Buddy Lewis (1936) and Hall of Famer Al Kaline (1955).

Noah Syndergaard, New York Mets (@nsyndergaard)

• Compiled a 0.63 ERA across two starts for the Mets. Over 14.1 innings pitched, tallied 14 strikeouts while permitting eight hits and two walks.
• In the first start of his award-winning week on July 30th against the Chicago White Sox, did not allow an earned run across 7.1 innings with a season-high 11 punchouts. Permitted just five hits and one walk in the dominant outing.
• Has tossed at least 7.0 innings in five consecutive starts dating back to July 13th, extending his personal-best streak. Only All-Star Max Scherzer has logged a longer streak this season, tossing seven straight starts of at least 7.0 innings from June 2nd-July 6th.
• Since the All-Star break, has gone 2-1 with a 1.78 ERA and 39 strikeouts across 35.1 innings of work, lowering his 2019 ERA to its lowest point of the season (3.96).

Other noteworthy AL performances last week included Vlad’s teammates Bo Bichette (.406, 13 H, 5 2B, 2 HR) and Randal Grichuk (.370, 10 H, 5 XBH, 5 RBI); All-Star starting pitcher Justin Verlander (2-0, 0.69 ERA, 13.0 IP, 23 SO) of the Houston Astros; designated hitter Nelson Cruz (.500, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 1.667 SLG) of the Minnesota Twins; 2019 Ted Williams All-Star Game MVP presented by Chevrolet Shane Bieber (1-1, 2.25 ERA, 1 CG, 16 SO) and second baseman Jason Kipnis (.364, 2 2B, 3 HR, 9 RBI) of the Cleveland Indians; second baseman Rougned Odor (.412, 5 XBH, 6 RBI, .941 SLG) of the Texas Rangers; and designated hitter/first baseman Miguel Cabrera (.450, 4 R, 3 XBH, 6 RBI) of the Detroit Tigers.

Other noteworthy NL performances were All-Star starting pitcher Walker Buehler (1-0, 1 CG SHO, 15 SO, 0 BB) of the Los Angeles Dodgers; outfielder Adam Duvall (.385, 6 R, 4 HR, 6 RBI) of the Atlanta Braves; first baseman Eric Hosmer (.333, 6 R, 3 HR, 11 RBI) of the San Diego Padres; All-Star third baseman Anthony Rendon (.304, 4 R, 2 HR, 9 RBI) of the Washington Nationals; outfielder Corey Dickerson (.455, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 1.273 SLG), who was traded from the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Philadelphia Phillies at Wednesday’s Trade Deadline; and Noah’s All-Star teammate Jeff McNeil (.333, 9 R, 3 HR, 7 RBI).

PLAY OF THE WEEK

Barehanded Play from the Mound by Marcus Stroman of the New York Mets

August 3__rd at PIT – Watch It Here

In his first start with the Mets, starting pitcher Marcus Stroman earned his first career Play of the Week honor. With the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the first inning, Stroman charged a slow-rolling grounder hit towards the third base side before making a barehanded play and throwing the runner out at home. Additional Play of the Week candidates included McNeil’s leaping catch in foul territory along the right-field stands; Trevor Story’s diving stop in the hole and throw across the diamond to Daniel Murphy, who hauled in the high throw before applying the tag; Steven Duggar’s home run-robbing catch in center field at Coors Field; Eduardo Escobar’s diving catch along the third-base line to rob Rendon of an extra-base hit in the top of the ninth inning; and José Iglesias’ spinning throw to first after fielding a ground ball up the middle.