Carlos Cortes of the Athletics named American League Player of the Week; Ildemaro Vargas of the Arizona Diamondbacks named National League Player of the Week

Outfielder Carlos Cortes of the Athletics has been selected the American League Player of the Week, and infielder Ildemaro Vargas of the Arizona Diamondbacks has been named the National League Player of the Week. The announcements were made earlier today on MLB Network.

Cortes won his first career award, marking the first honor for the Athletics since Nick Kurtz won back-to-back awards on July 21^st and July 28^th last year. It is the first recognition for an A’s outfielder since Lawrence Butler won on September 3, 2024. Vargas also earned his first career honor, marking the first award for the Diamondbacks since Eugenio Suárez won four times last year, last winning on July 21^st.

Carlos Cortes, Athletics (@carloscortes_14)

• The 28-year-old hit .542 (13-for-24) with three homers, seven RBI, two doubles, a triple, four runs scored, a 1.083 slugging percentage and a .542 on-base percentage across six contests.
• The Orlando, Florida native led the Majors in hits; ranked second in slugging, total bases (26) and batting average; ranked third in OPS (1.625); and ranked fifth in on-base percentage.
• The University of South Carolina alumnus launched a pair of homers off of Texas’ Nathan Eovaldi on Friday, connecting on a solo blast in the first, followed by a three-run shot in the fifth. It was his second career multi-homer game (also: 9/12/2025), while his four RBI set a new career high.
• The third-round selection in the 2018 Draft (by NYM) racked up a career-high four hits on Monday at Seattle, including a home run in the fourth inning. Overall, he is riding a seven-game hitting streak which includes four multi-hit games, adding a three-hit performance on Sunday at Texas, with his two-run triple in the first inning providing all of the offense for the A’s in a 2-1 win.
• Cortes, who appeared with Team Puerto Rico in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, has just four strikeouts in 67 plate appearances this season. He is the first A’s player since Carney Lansford in 1992 to have four-or-fewer strikeouts and a batting average of at least .350 across his first 22 games of a season. Cortes’ 6.0% strikeout rate is the second-lowest among hitters with at least 50 plate appearances this season, trailing only San Francisco’s Luis Arraez (3.5%).

Ildemaro Vargas, Arizona Diamondbacks (@vargasildemaro)

• The 34-year-old hit .364 (8-for-22) with four homers, 12 RBI, a double, a triple, seven runs scored, a 1.045 slugging percentage and a .364 on-base percentage in five games.
• The Caripito, Venezuela native led the Majors in RBI; tied for second in extra-base hits and homers; ranked third in total bases (23); ranked fourth in slugging; and ranked fifth in OPS (1.409).
• The 10-year veteran came within a single of hitting for the cycle on Sunday against San Diego in the Mexico City Series presented by T-Mobile, hitting a homer in the sixth inning followed by a double in the seventh and a three-run triple in the eighth.
• With the big game on Sunday, Vargas has now hit safely in each of his first 20 games of the season, setting a Diamondbacks’ franchise record to begin a season. It is just the 13^th hitting streak of at least 20 games to begin a season, and the longest since San Francisco’s Pablo Sandoval also hit safely in 20 consecutive games to begin the 2012 campaign. Edgar Rentería is the only other player in the last 47 years to begin a season with a hitting streak of at least 20 games, opening his 2006 campaign with Atlanta on a 23-game hitting streak. Hall of Famer George Sisler holds the Major League record, hitting safely in 34 consecutive games for the St. Louis Browns to begin the 1925 season.
• Vargas connected on a pair of homers on Wednesday against the White Sox, racking up a career-high five RBI. Along with his three RBI on Tuesday, Vargas became Arizona’s first player with at least eight RBI in a two-game span since Pavin Smith had nine RBI across a pair of games in September 2024, highlighted by an eight-RBI game.

Other noteworthy AL performances last week included first baseman Spencer Torkelson (.391, 5 HR, 6 RBI, 3 2B, 3 BB, 6 R, 1.174 SLG, .462 OBP), outfielder Riley Greene (.462, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 2B, 5 BB, 6 R, .769 SLG, .548 OBP) and rookie third baseman/shortstop Kevin McGonigle (.379, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 5 2B, 3 BB, 7 R, 1 SB, .655 SLG, .455 OBP) of the Detroit Tigers; rookie catcher Samuel Basallo (.563, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 1 2B, 3 BB, 4 R, 1.000 SLG, .632 OBP), catcher Adley Rutschman (.412, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 3 R, .941 SLG, .412 OBP), and outfielder Taylor Ward (.381, 2 2B, 8 BB, 3 R, .476 SLG, .552 OBP) of the Baltimore Orioles; Cortes' teammate, starting pitcher Luis Severino (1.35 ERA, 1 GS, 6.2 IP, 6 H, 1 BB, 5 SO) of the Athletics; starting pitcher Sean Burke (1.35 ERA, 2 G, 1 GS, 13.1 IP, 8 H, 1 BB, 7 SO) of the Chicago White Sox; starting pitcher Spencer Arrighetti (2.25 ERA, 2 GS, 12.0 IP, 8 H, 5 BB, 11 SO), outfielder/designated hitter Yordan Alvarez (.440, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 2 2B, 3 R, .640 SLG, .440 OBP), and first baseman Christian Walker (.417, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 2 2B, 1 BB, 5 R, .875 SLG, .440 OBP) of the Houston Astros; catcher Cal Raleigh (.360, 4 HR, 4 RBI, 3 BB, 6 R, 1 SB, .880 SLG, .429 OBP) and first baseman Josh Naylor (.474, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 2 2B, 2 BB, 3 R, 4 SB, .737 SLG, .500 OBP) of the Seattle Mariners; starting pitcher Nick Martinez (1.13 ERA, 1 GS, 8.0 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 6 SO) of the Tampa Bay Rays; and third baseman Josh Jung (.364, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 4 2B, 1 BB, 5 R, 1 SB, .818 SLG, .417 OBP) of the Texas Rangers.

Other noteworthy NL performances last week included Vargas' teammate, third baseman Nolan Arenado (.611, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 2B, 3 BB, 7 R, .833 SLG, .667 OBP) of the Arizona Diamondbacks; center fielder Michael Harris II (.417, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 3 2B, 1 BB, 2 R, .792 SLG, .423 OBP) and second baseman Ozzie Albies (.414, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 2 2B, 5 R, .586 SLG, .400 OBP) of the Atlanta Braves; starting pitcher Paul Skenes (0.00 ERA, 1 GS, 7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 7 SO) of the Pittsburgh Pirates; starting pitcher Chase Dollander (0.69 ERA, 2 G, 1 GS, 13.0 IP, 8 H, 3 BB, 16 SO) of the Colorado Rockies; starting pitcher Justin Wrobleski (0.69 ERA, 2 GS, 13.0 IP, 12 H, 4 BB, 9 SO) and third baseman Max Muncy (.444, 3 HR, 4 RBI, 2 2B, 6 BB, 8 R, 1.056 SLG, .583 OBP) of the Los Angeles Dodgers; designated hitter Nathaniel Lowe (.294, 4 HR, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 6 R, 1.000 SLG, .333 OBP) and rookie first baseman Sal Stewart (.333, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 1 2B, 3 BB, 3 R, 3 SB, .625 SLG, .393 OBP) of the Cincinnati Reds; starting pitcher Landen Roupp (2.84 ERA, 2 GS, 12.2 IP, 3 H, 7 BB, 13 SO) and outfielder Jung Hoo Lee (.571, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 BB, 5 R, .905 SLG, .591 OBP) of the San Francisco Giants; first baseman Michael Busch (.333, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 2 2B, 2 BB, 4 R, .600 SLG, .394 OBP) and outfielder Seiya Suzuki (.400, 4 HR, 6 RBI, 3 BB, 5 R, .880 SLG, .483 OBP) of the Chicago Cubs; and outfielder Nathan Church (.421, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 1 BB, 4 R, 1 SB, 1.053 SLG, .429 OBP) of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Play of the Week

Heads-Up Barehanded Snag by Nico Hoerner of the Chicago Cubs

April 24^th at Dodger Stadium – Watch It Here

Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner earned his first career Play of the Week Award, marking the fourth honor for Chicago since the award’s inception in 2019. Other Cubs to win the award include Albert Almora Jr. on July 27, 2020; Javier Báez on May 31, 2021; and Mike Tauchman on July 30, 2023. With the Dodgers leading 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Hyeseong Kim hit a hard grounder to Michael Busch at first base, who deflected the ball towards Hoerner as the two-time Rawlings Gold Glover made a barehanded catch and quickly threw the ball to pitcher Ryan Rolison to get the out at first base. Additional Play of the Week candidates included the Dodgers’ team relay to nab the potential go-ahead run at home plate; Nolan Arenado’s game-ending diving snag; Marcelo Mayer’s sliding catch in foul territory; Jarren Duran’s diving catch; Zack Gelof’s long run and leaping catch at the wall; and Elly De La Cruz’s diving stop and long throw to first.