Anthony Rizzo, Mitch Keller Named Players of the Week presented by Chevrolet

New York Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo has been selected the American League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet, and Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Mitch Keller has been named the National League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet. The announcements were made earlier today on MLB Network.

Rizzo earned his fourth career weekly honor and his first since joining the Yankees in 2021. He previously won in the NL while with the Chicago Cubs in July 2014, August 2017 and August 2018. Rizzo joins his teammate Gerrit Cole as Yankees to receive the honor this season and he is the first Yankees position player to win since his teammate Aaron Judge for the final week of his 2022 MVP Award-winning season. Keller, in his fifth Major League season, claimed his first career weekly award. He is the first Pirates player to take home a weekly honor since his teammate Bryan Reynolds earlier this season (4/10/23), and is the first Pirates pitcher to be named since Jameson Taillon in April 2018.

Anthony Rizzo, New York Yankees (@arizz_44)

• The 33-year-old hit .444 (12-for-27) with a double, three home runs, seven RBI, 10 runs scored, an .815 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base percentage. He led AL hitters in hits and runs scored, ranked second in batting average and total bases (22), tied for second in homers, tied for third in on-base and was fourth in slugging.
• The three-time All-Star opened his award-winning week with three consecutive multi-hit games, leading New York to a three-game sweep of the visiting Oakland Athletics.
• On Friday against the MLB-best Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium, the 2017 Roberto Clemente Award recipient homered twice and drove in three as the Yankees won a 6-5 contest. Rizzo followed with a three-hit day on Saturday to help the Yankees overcome a 6-0 deficit en route to a 9-8 win.
• The Florida native hit his team-leading ninth homer of the season with a go-ahead two-run blast in the third inning of an eventual 8-7 loss on Sunday afternoon for his third homer in three games.
• The four-time Gold Glove Award winner enters play today with a 13-game on-base streak dating back to May 1^st, which marks his longest since a 17-game stretch with the Cubs in April/May 2021.

Mitch Keller, Pittsburgh Pirates (@mitchkeller11)

• The 27-year-old right-hander went 2-0 last week and did not allow a run over 16.0 innings pitched, permitting just eight hits and one walk with 21 strikeouts.
• A second round pick in the 2014 Draft, Keller tossed his first career complete game and shutout last Monday against the visiting Colorado Rockies at PNC Park in a 2-0 win. He surrendered four hits and one walk with eight strikeouts in the 103-pitch effort, retiring each of the last 10 batters he faced to become the first Pirates pitcher since Taillon (April 8, 2018) to throw a nine-inning shutout.
• The Cedar Rapids, Iowa native followed up that performance with a career-best 13 strikeouts on Sunday afternoon against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards. In 7.0 scoreless innings, Keller allowed four hits and did not walk a batter while improving to 5-1 with a 2.38 ERA on the season. The performance marked the first time in franchise history that a pitcher went at least 7.0 scoreless innings without walking a batter while permitting no more than four hits and fanning at least 13.
• Keller enters play today with a 16.0-inning scoreless streak while placing third in the NL with 69 strikeouts, tied for fourth in victories and ranking sixth in ERA.

Other noteworthy AL performances last week included pitchers Jon Gray (2-0, 0.60 ERA, 2 GS, 15.0 IP, 7 H, 2 BB, 13 SO), Nathan Eovaldi (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 GS, 8.2 IP, 3 H, 1 BB 12 SO) and Will Smith (0.00 ERA, 3 G, 3 SV, 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 6 SO) of the Texas Rangers; outfielder Luis Robert Jr. (.346, 2 2B, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 8 R, .885 SLG) of the Chicago White Sox; shortstop Amed Rosario (.458, 2 2B, 2 3B, 2 RBI, 3 R, 1 SB, .480 OBP) of the Cleveland Guardians and his teammate Josh Naylor (.294, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 5 R, .824 SLG), who became the first player in the Expansion Era (since 1961) to hit a go-ahead homer in the eighth inning-or-later in three straight games; outfielder Cedric Mullins (.364, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 3 R, 1 SB, .682 SLG) and closer Félix Bautista (0.00 ERA, 3 G, 3 SV, 3.1 IP, 1 H, 3 BB, 7 SO) of the Orioles; outfielder/designated hitter Yordan Alvarez (.348, 2 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 4 R, .696 SLG) of the Houston Astros; infielder Taylor Walls (.300, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 3 R, 1 SB, .750 SLG) of the Rays; and outfielder Alex Kirilloff (.421, 2 2B, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 6 R, .842 SLG, .522 OBP) of the Minnesota Twins.

Other noteworthy NL performances for the week included rookie outfielder Dominic Fletcher (.429, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 2 R, .857 SLG) and starting pitcher Zac Gallen (2-0, 1.84 ERA, 2 GS, 14.2 IP, 10 H, 3 BB, 13 SO) of the Arizona Diamondbacks; outfielder Jake Fraley (.412, 1 2B, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 6 R, 1 SB, 1.000 SLG, .474 OBP) of the Cincinnati Reds; rookie shortstop Casey Schmitt (.458, 3 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 5 R, .833 SLG, .458 OBP) and starting pitcher Logan Webb (1-0, 1.29 ERA, 2 GS, 14.0 IP, 12 H, 4 BB, 10 SO) of the San Francisco Giants; outfielder Juan Soto (.455, 5 2B, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 3 R, 2 SB, .955 SLG, .538 OBP) of the San Diego Padres; infielder/outfielder Christopher Morel (.381, 1 2B, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 5 R, 1 SB, .857 SLG) of the Cubs; starting pitcher Kyle Freeland (1-1, 1.38 ERA, 2 GS, 13.0 IP, 11 H, 4 BB, 12 SO) of the Colorado Rockies; starting pitcher Tony Gonsolin (1-1, 0.00 ERA, 2 GS, 11.0 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 12 SO) of the Los Angeles Dodgers; and outfielder Christian Yelich (.400, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 5 R, 3 SB, .850 SLG, .478 OBP) of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Electric Play of the Week presented by Chevrolet

Great Diving Play by Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals

May 9^th at Kauffman Stadium – Watch It Here

Shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals earned his first individual Play of the Week Award and the third overall for the Royals since the honor was introduced in 2019. Witt, who became the first Kansas City player to win since Michael A. Taylor last May, earned Play of the Week honors alongside his teammate Salvador Perez in April 2022. In the top of the fifth inning of a 1-1 game against the visiting Chicago White Sox last Tuesday, Witt made a terrific diving stop deep in the hole at shortstop before jumping to his feet and firing the ball to first to beat Hanser Alberto by a step. Additional Play of the Week candidates included Jace Peterson’s impressive catch after a long run into foul territory; Randy Arozarena’s fully-extended diving catch in left field; Zach Neto’s juggling catch turned into a double play; Willy Adames’ leaping grab at short; Andrés Giménez’s flip to second from his glove; Harrison Bader’s long run and diving grab in center field; and Matt Chapman’s outstanding double play.