Outfielder Giancarlo Stanton of the New York Yankees has been chosen the American League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet, and outfielder Harrison Bader of the St. Louis Cardinals has been named the National League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet. The announcements were made earlier today on MLB Network.

Stanton earned his eighth career weekly award, most recently winning in September 2017 during his NL MVP-winning season with the Miami Marlins, and is the Yankees’ fourth different winner (fifth time) this season, following Corey Kluber, All-Star Aaron Judge and Luke Voit. Bader claimed his first career NL Player of the Week Award and is the Cardinals’ second straight recipient, following Tyler O’Neill. This marks the first time that St. Louis has consecutive winners since Brian Jordan and Ray Lankford accomplished the feat in July 1996.

Giancarlo Stanton, New York Yankees (@giancarlo818)

• Hit .409 (9-for-22) with four runs scored, a double, four home runs, 13 RBI and a 1.000 slugging percentage over six games played.
• Delivered a go-ahead grand slam in the eighth inning on Saturday, becoming the first Yankees player to accomplish the feat since Gary Sánchez on August 30, 2020.
• Finished the weekend with three homers and 10 RBI, becoming the fourth Yankees player in history to reach those totals in any three-game span against Boston, joining Hall of Famers Mickey Mantle (1954), Lou Gehrig (1931) and Babe Ruth (1927).
• Has recorded 26 hits, nine home runs and 22 RBI in 22 games since the calendar flipped to September.
• Following their sweep over the weekend, the Yankees lead the Red Sox by 1.0 game for the top AL Wild Card spot.

Harrison Bader, St. Louis Cardinals (@aybaybader)

• Batted .517 (15-for-29) with 10 runs, five doubles, three home runs, six RBI, two stolen bases and a 1.000 slugging percentage across eight games.
• On Saturday against the Chicago Cubs, the defensive standout became the seventh player in franchise history (eighth time) to log at least four hits, two steals and a homer in a single contest, and the first since Lankford in September 1998.
• The Cardinals enter play today in the midst of a franchise-record 16-game winning streak dating back to September 11th, which marks the longest in the Majors since Cleveland won 22 consecutive games in 2017, and the longest in the National League since the New York Giants in 1951 (16). Bader has tallied 13 runs, 24 hits, 13 extra-base hits and 12 RBI during St. Louis’ streak.
• St. Louis holds a 6.0-game lead for the second NL Wild Card spot heading into the final week of the regular season.

Other noteworthy AL performances for the week included two-way star Shohei Ohtani (7.0 IP, 1.29 ERA, 10 SO; 3 XBH, 13 BB) of the Los Angeles Angels; starting pitcher Marco Gonzales (2-0, 2.08 ERA, 13.0 IP, 8 SO) of the Seattle Mariners; starter Framber Valdez (1-0, 0.66 ERA, 13.2 IP, 9 SO) of the Houston Astros; outfielders Byron Buxton (.368, 5 R, 4 XBH, 2 SB) and Max Kepler (.500, 4 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI) of the Minnesota Twins; first baseman Yandy Díaz (.389, 3 R, 2 XBH, 7 RBI) of the Tampa Bay Rays; and Stanton’s teammate Chad Green (4 G, 3-0, 0.00 ERA, 5 SO).

Other noteworthy NL performances last week included Bader’s teammate Paul Goldschmidt (.375, 10 R, 5 HR, 11 RBI); All-Star outfielder Juan Soto (.476, 10 R, 5 XBH, 14 BB) of the Washington Nationals; third baseman Austin Riley (.406, 7 R, 13 H, 11 RBI) and starting pitcher Max Fried (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 CG SHO, 4 SO) of the Atlanta Braves; pitcher Ranger Suárez (1-1, 1.20 ERA, 15.0 IP, 12 SO) of the Philadelphia Phillies; relief pitcher Kenley Jansen (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 SV, 6 SO) and infielder Trea Turner (.458, 6 R, 11 H, 5 XBH) of the Los Angeles Dodgers; and first baseman Brandon Belt (.458, 8 R, 11 H, 3 HR) of the San Francisco Giants.

PLAY OF THE WEEK

Barehanded Catch by Jesús Sánchez of the Miami Marlins

September 20__th vs. WSH – Watch It Here

Outfielder Jesús Sánchez of the Miami Marlins earned his first career Play of the Week Award and is Miami’s first winner since the award was introduced in 2019. In the top of the fourth inning against the Washington Nationals at Marlins Park, Sánchez made a running barehanded catch in foul territory. Additional Play of the Week candidates included Akil Baddoo’s home run-robbing catch; Nolan Arenado’s over-the-shoulder basket catch in foul territory; J.T. Realmuto’s lunging grab against the net behind home plate; and a double play turned by the Cardinals after an extended rundown.