Brent Rooker of the Oakland Athletics named American League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet; Nick Senzel of the Cincinnati Reds named National League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet

Oakland Athletics outfielder Brent Rooker has been selected the American League Player of the Wee**k presented by Chevrolet, and Cincinnati Reds infielder/outfielder **Nick Senzel has been named the National League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet. The announcements were made earlier today on MLB Network.

Rooker, who had a breakout performance in the opening month of the season, earns his first career Player of the Week Award, marking the first for an Athletic since Frankie Montas in August 2020, and the first for an Oakland position player since Mark Canha in August 2019. Senzel, in his fifth Major League season, also claims his first career Player of the Week honor. Nick is the first Reds player to take home the award since Hunter Greene last June, and the first Cincinnati position player since Tyler Naquin in August 2021.

Brent Rooker, Oakland Athletics (@brent_rooker19)

• The 28-year-old hit .417 (10-for-24) with five home runs, one double, 11 RBI, eight runs scored and six walks with a 1.083 slugging percentage and a .545 on-base percentage.
• The 35^th overall selection in the 2017 Draft (by Minnesota) led AL hitters in home runs, slugging and runs scored, tied for first in total bases (26) and walks, and was second in RBI and on-base percentage.
• Rooker opened his award-winning week with a two-homer performance to help the A’s to a 10-inning, 11-10 victory against the Angels in Anaheim. He went back-to-back with teammate Jesús Aguilar twice in the contest, marking the first time in A’s history that teammates hit consecutive homers twice in the same game.
• The Mississippi State University product hit safely in six of his seven contests overall during the week, including a three-hit performance on Friday in the opening game of a three-game series against Cincinnati in Oakland.
• Rooker, who enters play today second in the AL with nine homers and tied for sixth with 22 RBI on the season, also homered in three of his last four games while driving in runs in four of his last five contests of the week.

Nick Senzel, Cincinnati Reds (@nick_senzel)

• The versatile 27-year-old hit .476 (10-for-21) with two homers, nine RBI, one double, eight runs scored and one stolen base along with an .810 slugging percentage and .560 on-base percentage.
• The University of Tennessee product led NL hitters last week in batting average, RBI and runs scored while ranking second in on-base percentage, tied for third in hits and total bases (17), and fourth in slugging.
• Tied at 3-3 in the bottom of the ninth on Wednesday against the visiting Texas Rangers, Senzel delivered a walk-off two-run homer to help the Reds claim their third consecutive win in a streak that would extend to five straight games.
• Senzel, who enters play today with a five-game hitting streak, tallied 10 hits over his final five contests of the week, including three consecutive multi-hit games from Tuesday through Friday.
• The second overall pick in the 2016 Draft recorded at least one RBI in five of his six games played, including back-to-back two-RBI games against the Rangers on Tuesday and Wednesday, as well as a three-RBI contest at Oakland on Friday.

Other noteworthy AL performances last week included infielder Brandon Drury (.370, 4 HR, 12 RBI, 2 2B, 1 3B, 7 R, .963 SLG) and reliever Carlos Estévez (0.00 ERA, 3 G, 3 SV, 3.2 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 5 SO) of the Los Angeles Angels; starting pitcher Sonny Gray (2-0, 0.69 ERA, 13.0 IP, 8 H, 3 BB, 15 SO) and outfielder Byron Buxton (.304, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 3 2B, 6 R, .957 SLG) of the Minnesota Twins; starting pitchers Nathan Eovaldi (1-0, 1.80 ERA, 1 CG-SHO, 15.0 IP, 9 H, 1 BB, 15 SO) and Martín Pérez (1-0, 0.73 ERA, 12.1 IP, 12 H, 2 BB, 7 SO), and rookie infielder Josh Jung (.263, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 2 2B, 5 R, .842 SLG) of the Texas Rangers; infielder/outfielder Luke Raley (.357, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 1 2B, 4 R, 1.071 SLG) of the Tampa Bay Rays; and outfielder Jarren Duran (.400, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 5 2B, 4 R, .720 SLG) of the Boston Red Sox.

Other noteworthy NL performances for the week included first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (.379, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 4 2B, 3 R, 1 SB, .724 SLG) and starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery (0-2, 0.71 ERA, 12.2 IP, 10 H, 3 BB, 13 SO) of the St. Louis Cardinals; starting pitcher Josiah Gray (2-0, 0.75 ERA, 12.0 IP, 7 H, 4 BB, 15 SO) of the Washington Nationals; starting pitcher Alex Cobb (1-0, 1.93 ERA, 1 CG-SHO, 14.0 IP, 13 H, 1 BB, 11 SO) and outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. (.316, 3 HR, 4 RBI, 1 2B, 1 3B, 4 R, .947 SLG) of the San Francisco Giants; infielder/outfielder Miguel Andujar (.500, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 1.250 SLG) of the Pittsburgh Pirates; starting pitcher Austin Gomber (2-0, 0.82 ERA, 11.0 IP, 6 H, 5 BB, 7 SO) of the Colorado Rockies; starting pitcher Spencer Strider (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 8.0 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 13 SO) of the Atlanta Braves; and Senzel’s teammate Alexis Díaz (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 4 G, 2 SV, 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 6 SO).

Electric Play of the Week presented by Chevrolet

Incredible Barehanded Catch by Wander Franco of the Tampa Bay Rays

April 24^th at Tropicana Field – Watch It Here

Shortstop Wander Franco of the Tampa Bay Rays earned his first career Play of the Week Award and the second overall by a Rays player since the honor was introduced in 2019. Franco became the first Tampa Bay player to win the award since his teammate Randy Arozarena in April 2021. In the fifth inning against the visiting Houston Astros last Monday, Franco made a long run into foul territory before making an outstanding over-the-shoulder barehanded grab. Additional Play of the Week candidates included Taylor Ward’s home-run robbing catch up against the fans in left field; Luis Robert Jr.’s incredible leaping catch in center to take away a home run; Austin Hedges’ lunging grab from behind the plate; Trayce Thompson’s diving grab near foul territory; and a home-run robbing catch in right field by Nick Castellanos.