Willson Contreras and Ketel Marte Named Players of the Week

First baseman Willson Contreras of the Boston Red Sox has been selected the American League Player of the Week, and second baseman Ketel Marte of the Arizona Diamondbacks has been unanimously named the National League Player of the Week. The announcements were made earlier today on MLB Network.

Contreras earned his second career award and his first in the American League after previously winning as a member of the Chicago Cubs on August 7, 2017. It is the first award for Boston since Trevor Story was honored last season on August 4^th. Marte also won his second career award after taking home the honor as a member of the Diamondbacks on September 9, 2019. It marks the second honor for Arizona this season, with Marte joining his teammate Ildemaro Vargas, who won the award on April 27^th, and it is the first time since 2024 that multiple Diamondbacks players won in a single season. It is the second time this season that a pair of internationally-born players have won the award in each league, joining Cuban-natives Andy Pages and Yordan Alvarez on April 6^th.

Willson Contreras, Boston Red Sox (@willsoncontreras40)

• The 34-year-old hit .458 (11-for-24) with two homers, eight RBI, two triples, a walk, five runs scored, an .875 slugging percentage and a .480 on-base percentage across six games.
• The Puerto Cabello, Venezuela native ranked second in the Majors in total bases (21); tied for second in hits (11); ranked third in slugging; ranked fourth in batting average; tied for fourth in RBI; and ranked fifth in OPS (1.355).
• The three-time All-Star tallied four multi-hit games, including three hits on Wednesday at Kansas City, along with two-hit games on Tuesday at Kansas City and Saturday and Sunday against Minnesota. Overall, he now has 11 multi-hit games this season and has contributed multiple hits in consecutive games three times.
• The 2016 World Series Champion with the Chicago Cubs hit a triple in back-to-back games on Wednesday at Kansas City and Friday against Minnesota, marking the first time a Red Sox first baseman hit a triple in consecutive games since Mitch Moreland accomplished the feat twice in 2018 (May 26^th-27^th & June 22^nd-23^rd). He was the first Major Leaguer to achieve the feat since Jared Young of the Cubs on June 29-30, 2023.
• Contreras has hit safely in each of his last eight games dating back to May 16^th, batting .452 (14-for-32) with six extra-base hits, 10 RBI and a 1.372 OPS during the stretch. His current streak is tied for the sixth-longest hitting streak of his career, and he has reached base safely in 44 of his 50 games this season.

Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks (@ketel_marte4)

• The 32-year-old hit .536 (15-for-28) with three homers, 12 RBI, four doubles, three walks, 11 runs scored, a 1.000 slugging percentage and a .563 on-base percentage in seven games.
• The Nizao, Dominican Republic native led the Majors in batting average, RBI, slugging, OPS (1.563), hits, extra-base hits (7), total bases (28) and runs scored; tied for the Major League lead in doubles; ranked second in on-base percentage; and tied for second in home runs.
• The three-time All-Star registered five multi-hit games last week, and including his four-hit performance at San Francisco on Monday night, he has tallied seven multi-hit games during a nine-game hitting streak dating back to May 16^th. With his four hits and three RBI on Monday, Marte became the third player in franchise history with at least three hits and multiple RBI in three consecutive games, joining Paul Goldschmidt (June 6-9, 2018) and Steve Finley (June 1-4, 1999).
• The two-time Silver Slugger has racked up 21 hits over his last nine games, one shy of matching his 2019 franchise record of 22 hits across a nine-game span in June. He is the second player in Diamondbacks’ history to record at least 20 hits and 15 RBI in a nine-game span, joining Finley in May/June 1999 (20 H/18 RBI).
• The 2023 NLCS MVP hammered a three-run walk-off home run last Tuesday against San Francisco, marking his first career walk-off home run and his second walk-off plate appearance of the year after a game-winning double against Atlanta on April 5^th.

Other noteworthy AL performances last week included infielder Ernie Clement (.391, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 4 2B, 4 R, 1 SB, .696 SLG) of the Toronto Blue Jays; first baseman Nick Kurtz (.423, 8 RBI, 3 2B, 7 BB, 6 R, 1 SB, .538 SLG, .545 OBP) of the Athletics; closer Cade Smith (0.00 ERA, 4 G, 4 SV, 4.0 IP, 3 H, 0 BB, 6 SO) and starting pitcher Gavin Williams (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 GS, 8.0 IP, 4 H, 0 BB, 11 SO) of the Cleveland Guardians; starting pitcher Stephen Kolek (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 GS, CG, SHO, 9.0 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 2 SO) of the Kansas City Royals; infielders Ezequiel Duran (.333, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 2 2B, 3 R, .542 SLG) and Justin Foscue (.455, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 3 2B, 4 R, .727 SLG, .519 OBP) of the Texas Rangers; starting pitcher Drew Anderson (0.00 ERA, 2 G, 1 GS, 6.2 IP, 3 H, 4 BB, 11 SO) of the Detroit Tigers; first baseman Pete Alonso (.318, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 1 2B, 3 BB, 2 R, 1 SB, .636 SLG) of the Baltimore Orioles; and designated hitter Josh Bell (.364, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 3 BB, 3 R, .636 SLG) of the Minnesota Twins.

Other noteworthy NL performances last week included Marte's Diamondbacks teammates, outfielder Corbin Carroll (.440, 4 RBI, 1 2B, 4 3B, 1 BB, 3 R, .800 SLG), outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt (.500, 2 RBI, 2 2B, 1 3B, 3 BB, 8 R, 4 SB, .682 SLG, .560 OBP) and starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez (0.00 ERA, 1 GS, 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 4 SO); starting pitcher Max Meyer (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 GS, 13.0 IP, 4 H, 5 BB, 14 SO) of the Miami Marlins; outfielder Juan Soto (.364, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 4 BB, 6 R, 1 SB, .909 SLG) of the New York Mets; first baseman Alec Burleson (.471, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 2B, 3 BB, 4 R, .765 SLG, .591 OBP) and outfielder Jordan Walker (.316, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 1 2B, 1 BB, 3 R, .684 SLG) of the St. Louis Cardinals; outfielder James Wood (.333, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 2 2B, 6 BB, 6 R, 1 SB, .519 SLG) of the Washington Nationals; starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (1-1, 1.29 ERA, 2 GS, 14.0 IP, 10 H, 3 BB, 11 SO) of the Los Angeles Dodgers; and starting pitcher Kyle Harrison (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 GS, 7.0 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 11 SO) of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Play of the Week

Between-the-Legs Flip by Nico Hoerner of the Chicago Cubs

May 22^nd at Wrigley Field – Watch It Here

Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner earned his second career Play of the Week Award after previously winning earlier this season on April 27^th. He became the first player to win multiple awards this season, as well as the first Cubs player to win the award multiple times in his career. It is the fifth time the Cubs have earned the honor since the award’s inception in 2019, with Hoerner joined by Albert Almora Jr. (7/27/2020); Javier Báez (5/31/2021); and Mike Tauchman (7/30/2023). With no outs in the top of the fifth inning against the Houston Astros, César Salazar laid down a bunt as Hoerner picked up the ball and flipped it between his legs to first base to get the out. Additional Play of the Week candidates included Nick Sogard’s full-extension diving catch; Austin Martin’s over-the-shoulder catch; Jarren Duran’s leaping catch at the wall; Dansby Swanson’s sliding stop and long throw to first; Daulton Varsho’s full-extension catch; Angel Martínez’s diving catch; and Brandon Lowe’s long run and nice sliding play.