Jake Cronenworth of the San Diego Padres named National League Player of the Week; Miguel Vargas of the Chicago White Sox named American League Player of the Week
Infielder Jake Cronenworth of the San Diego Padres has been named the National League Player of the Week, and 2026 All-Star third baseman Miguel Vargas of the Chicago White Sox has been selected the American League Player of the Week. The announcements were made earlier today on MLB Network.
Cronenworth earned the honor for the second time in his career after previously winning with the Padres on June 28, 2021. It is the second straight week that San Diego has garnered honors following Jackson Merrill’s award, with Cronenworth’s award marking the fourth honor of the season for the Padres along with Gavin Sheets (May 18th) and Fernando Tatis Jr. (August 24th). It is the first time the Padres have won the award in consecutive weeks since 2021, when Eric Hosmer won on April 5th and Joe Musgrove won on April 12th. Vargas also won the award for the second time in his career after previously winning last year on May 19th, which also marked the most recent award for the White Sox.
Jake Cronenworth, San Diego Padres (@jcronenworth9)
- The 32-year-old hit .464 (13-for-28) with two homers, eight RBI, a double, a triple, two walks, eight runs scored, a .786 slugging percentage and a .516 on-base percentage in seven games.
- The St. Clair, Michigan native led the Majors in hits; ranked second in batting average; tied for second in total bases (22) and runs scored; tied for fourth in RBI; ranked sixth in OPS (1.302); ranked seventh in on-base percentage; and ranked ninth in slugging.
- The two-time All-Star tallied five multi-hit games, capping off his week with a two-homer, five-RBI game on Sunday against Miami. It marked the second two-homer game of his career and marked his fourth career game with at least five RBI. It was his first contest of at least five RBI since he tallied a career-best six RBI on April 15, 2023 to highlight his first career two-homer game.
- The seventh-round selection in the 2015 Draft (by TB) scored a run in each of his last four games of the week as he extended his hitting streak to 10 games dating back to September 11th. It is his fifth career hitting streak of at least 10 games and his longest since he hit in a career-best 12 straight games from April 25-May 8, 2024. During the current streak, he is batting .400 (16-for-40) with a pair of homers, nine RBI and a 1.080 OPS.
- The University of Michigan product recorded a pair of stolen bases on Saturday against Miami, marking his second career game with multiple steals after also achieving the feat on July 11th. Along with his teammate Xander Bogaerts, the duo is the first pair of Padres players aged 32-or-older to register multiple games with at least two stolen bases in a single season since Dave Roberts (9 G) and Mike Cameron (2 G) in 2006. Adding Ramón Laureano, it is the first time since 1995 that at least three San Diego players aged 30-or-older have recorded multiple games with at least two steals. Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, Steve Finley and Bip Roberts accomplished the feat for San Diego in 1995 with three multi-steal games each.
Miguel Vargas, Chicago White Sox (@miggy__13)
- The 26-year-old hit .348 (8-for-23) with three homers, nine RBI, a double, eight walks, five runs scored, a .783 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base percentage across seven contests.
- The La Habana, Cuba native tied for the Major League lead in RBI; tied for third in walks; ranked eighth in OPS (1.283); and ranked 10th in slugging.
- The first-time All-Star in 2026 reached base safely in all seven games, posting multiple hits on Monday at Cleveland and Friday against Detroit, while tallying multiple RBI on Monday and Tuesday at Cleveland and Friday against Detroit. Overall, he now has 14 games this season with multiple hits and multiple RBI, matching Colson Montgomery for the most on the White Sox. He capped off his week by reaching base safely four times on Sunday against Detroit, drawing three walks to go with a single.
- The fifth-year Major Leaguer homered in back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday against Detroit and now leads the White Sox with a career-best 33 home runs on the season. His 33 homers are tied with Bill Melton (33 HR in 1970 & 1971) for the third-most by a White Sox third baseman (min. 51% of games played at 3B), trailing Robin Ventura (34 in 1996) and Todd Frazier (40 in 2016).
- Vargas, who homered in the 96th All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park, is one of three White Sox players with at least 30 homers this season (also: Munetaka Murakami and Colson Montgomery). He scored two runs and tallied a stolen base on Saturday against Detroit, eclipsing 100 runs scored and reaching 20 stolen bases on the campaign. Vargas is the first player in White Sox history with at least 30 doubles, 30 homers, 20 stolen bases and 100 runs scored in a single season, marking the 97th instance all-time and the 13th instance by a player with at least 51% of his games played at third base. Vargas is one of four players in the Majors this season with at least 30 homers and 20 stolen bases, joining Chicago’s Pete Crow-Armstrong (45 HR/38 SB); and Washington’s CJ Abrams (31 HR/33 SB) and James Wood (30 HR/21 SB).
Other noteworthy NL performances last week included All-Star outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (.345, 4 HR, 9 RBI, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 BB, 7 R, 2 SB, .897 SLG) and starting pitcher David Peterson (2-0, 1.50 ERA, 2 GS, 12.0 IP, 6 H, 4 BB, 14 SO) of the Chicago Cubs; outfielder Kyle Tucker (.450, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 2 2B, 6 BB, 9 R, 1 SB, 1.000 SLG, .577 OBP) and shortstop Mookie Betts (.417, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 3 2B, 3 BB, 5 R, .792 SLG, .481 OBP) of the Los Angeles Dodgers; rookie utilityman Cole Carrigg (.387, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 1 2B, 4 R, 2 SB, .710 SLG) of the Colorado Rockies; rookie catcher/first baseman Rafael Flores (.529, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 2B, 3 BB, 2 R, 1.000 SLG, .600 OBP) of the Pittsburgh Pirates; All-Star outfielder Corbin Carroll (.273, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 1 2B, 3 BB, 3 R, .591 SLG); relief pitcher Juan Morillo (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 3 G, 3.1 IP, 0 H, 2 BB, 4 SO) and third baseman Nolan Arenado (.391, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 3 R, .652 SLG) of the Arizona Diamondbacks; Cronenworth’s Padres teammates, outfielder Samad Taylor (.556, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 2 2B, 3 BB, 6 R, 1 SB, .833 SLG, .591 OBP), infielder Ty France (.400, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 4 2B, 4 R, .633 SLG, .406 OBP), outfielder Dustin Harris (.379, 7 RBI, 2 2B, 1 3B, 2 BB, 5 R, 2 SB, .517 SLG, .419 OBP) and outfielder Jackson Merrill (.400, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 3B, 1 BB, 5 R, .567 SLG, .419 OBP); second baseman Brandon Lowe (.348, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 1 2B, 3 BB, 5 R, .913 SLG, .444 OBP) of the Pittsburgh Pirates; outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. (.292, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 1 2B, 4 BB, 4 R, .708 SLG) and All-Star relief pitcher Raisel Iglesias (0.00 ERA, 3 G, 2 SV, 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 4 SO) of the Atlanta Braves.
Other noteworthy AL performances last week included starting pitcher Hunter Brown (1-0, 0.90 ERA, 2 GS, 10.0 IP, 5 H, 5 BB, 20 SO), shortstop Jeremy Peña (.385, 3 HR, 4 RBI, 1 2B, 1 3B, 5 R, .846 SLG) and All-Star designated hitter Yordan Alvarez (.400, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 2B, 4 BB, 3 R, .800 SLG, .500 OBP) of the Houston Astros; outfielder Chandler Simpson (.417, 5 RBI, 2 2B, 3 R, 5 SB, .500 SLG, .417 OBP) and starting pitcher Griffin Jax (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 GS, 10.0 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 12 SO) of the Tampa Bay Rays; rookie outfielder Walker Jenkins (.429, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 6 R, .714 SLG, .455 OBP), outfielder Luke Keaschall (.375, 2 RBI, 1 2B, 3 BB, 3 R, 2 SB, .417 SLG, .464 OBP), third baseman Brooks Lee (.385, 2 RBI, 1 2B, 2 BB, 6 R, .414 OBP), starting pitcher Dean Kremer (1-0, 0.77 ERA, 2 GS, 11.2 IP, 3 H, 4 BB, 13 SO), rookie starting pitcher Connor Prielipp (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 GS, 7.0 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 8 SO) and designated hitter Josh Bell (.333, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 3 R) of the Minnesota Twins; All-Star relief pitcher Cade Smith (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 4 G, 3 SV, 5.1 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 8 SO) of the Cleveland Guardians; starting pitcher Jack Perkins (0.71 ERA, 2 GS, 12.2 IP, 9 H, 1 BB, 12 SO) of the Athletics; rookie starting pitcher Walbert Ureña (0.00 ERA, 1 GS, 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 BB, 9 SO) of the Los Angeles Angels; pitcher Brayan Bello (0.93 ERA, 2 G, 1 GS, 9.2 IP, 5 H, 0 BB, 13 SO) of the Boston Red Sox; outfielder Wyatt Langford (.313, 3 RBI, 1 2B, 10 BB, 6 R, 2 SB, .577 OBP) of the Texas Rangers; and Vargas’ teammate, starting pitcher Sean Burke (2-0, 0.82 ERA, 2 G, 1 GS, 11.0 IP, 9 H, 5 BB, 9 SO) of the Chicago White Sox.
PLAY OF THE WEEK
Between the Legs Glove Flip by Ryan O'Hearn of the Pittsburgh Pirates
September 19th at PNC Park – Watch It Here
Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Ryan O’Hearn earned his first career Play of the Week Award, marking the Pirates’ fourth honor since the inception of the award in 2019. Other Pirates to garner honors include Ke’Bryan Hayes (6/28/2021); Gregory Polanco (8/9/2021); and Ben Gamel (8/1/2022). With one out and Pittsburgh leading the Kansas City Royals 4-2, Michael Massey laid down a bunt with a runner on third base as O’Hearn fielded the ball and picked it up with his glove, flipping between his legs to Brandon Eisert for the second out of the inning. Additional Play of the Week candidates included Denzel Clarke’s diving snag; Zac Thornton’s glove flip to first; Dylan Crews’ leaping catch at the wall; Bryson Stott’s sliding catch on the left field line; Bo Bichette’s barehanded play; Jeremy Peña’s nice sliding play to end the inning; and Emmanuel Rodriguez’s home run robbery.