Elly De La Cruz, Luis Robert Jr. Named Players of the Week presented by Chevrolet

Rookie infielder Elly De La Cruz of the Cincinnati Reds has been selected the National League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet, and Chicago White Sox outfielder Luis Robert Jr. has been named the American League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet. The announcements were made earlier today on MLB Network.

De La Cruz earned his first career weekly honor and joined teammates Nick Senzel (May 1^st) and Matt McLain (May 30^th) as Reds players to win the award this season. Robert Jr. claimed his first weekly honor and became the first White Sox player to win the honor since his former teammate Johnny Cueto on August 22^nd of last season. Robert Jr. is the first White Sox position player to win a weekly award since his former teammate José Abreu (May 31, 2021).

Elly De La Cruz, Cincinnati Reds (@la_cocoa_____18\)

• The 21-year-old hit .440 (11-for-25) with three doubles, one triple, two homers, five RBI, eight runs scored, two stolen bases, an .880 slugging percentage and a .462 on-base percentage in six games played.
• The Dominican Republic native tied for second in the NL in runs; ranked third in slugging and total bases (22); tied for third in hits (11) and doubles; was fourth in batting average; tied for seventh in home runs; and tied for eighth in on-base percentage.
• The dynamic rookie hit for the cycle in Friday’s 11-10 win against the visiting Atlanta Braves, becoming the seventh Reds player to accomplish the feat and the first since Eric Davis in June 1989. With the accomplishment, De La Cruz became the fifth-youngest player in Major League history to hit for the cycle and the youngest player since 1901 with a cycle and a stolen base in the same game.
• Hit safely in five of his first six games played this week, helping the Reds to a 12-game winning streak through Friday.
• Went a combined 6-for-12 with two doubles, a homer, RBI and four runs in a three-game series sweep against the visiting Colorado Rockies.
• De La Cruz became the first player since 1900 to produce at least 20 hits (22), five stolen bases (7) and three home runs (3) in his first 15 career games played (courtesy of Elias Sports Bureau).

Luis Robert Jr., Chicago White Sox (@luisrobertm56)

• The 25-year-old hit .444 (8-for-18) with four homers, five RBI, six runs scored, a 1.111 slugging percentage and a .524 on-base percentage across six games played last week.
• The Cuba native led the AL in slugging and on-base percentage; tied for first in homers and total bases (20); tied for second in runs; and ranked fourth in batting average.
• The 2020 Gold Glove Award winner, who has already hit a career-best 19 homers on the season, hit safely in five of his six contests while also scoring at least one run in five games. He enters play today on a four-game hitting streak.
• Robert, who finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2020, closed out his award-winning week with a three-hit contest on Sunday, including two homers and three RBI, to lead the White Sox to a 4-1 win and a series victory over the visiting Boston Red Sox.
• The 2019 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game alum, who also homered in Saturday’s contest against Boston, is one of three players in White Sox history to record at least 20 doubles and 17 home runs in his first 70 games of a season, joining Carlos Quentin (2011) and Zeke Bonura (1934).

Other noteworthy AL performances last week included outfielder Anthony Santander (.381, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 5 R, .952 SLG) and starting pitcher Kyle Bradish (2-0, 3.00 ERA, 2 GS, 12.0 IP, 6 H, 4 BB, 15 SO) of the Baltimore Orioles; third baseman Royce Lewis (.458, 1 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 5 R, 1 SB, .750 SLG, .480 OBP) and starting pitcher Joe Ryan (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 GS, 1 CG, 1 SHO, 9.0 IP, 3 H, 0 BB, 9 SO) of the Minnesota Twins; starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi (1-0, 0.69 ERA, 2 GS, 13.0 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 14 SO) of the Toronto Blue Jays; third baseman Alex Bregman (.333, 1 2B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 4 R, 1 SB, .625 SLG) of the Houston Astros; first baseman Yandy Díaz (.476, 2 RBI, 6 R, .476 SLG, .522 OBP) of the Tampa Bay Rays; outfielder Billy McKinney (.333, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 3 R, .833 SLG) of the New York Yankees; starting pitcher Daniel Lynch (1-0, 0.69 ERA, 2 GS, 13.0 IP, 7 H, 3 BB, 4 SO) of the Kansas City Royals; and outfielder Mickey Moniak (.545, 4 2B, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 5 R, 1.182 SLG, .615 OBP) of the Los Angeles Angels.

Other noteworthy NL performances for the week included infielder Ketel Marte (.345, 1 2B, 4 HR, 12 RBI, 9 R, .793 SLG, .441 OBP) of the Arizona Diamondbacks; outfielder Juan Soto (.480, 2 2B, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 7 R, .920 SLG, .594 OBP) of the San Diego Padres; starting pitcher Eury Pérez (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 GS, 12.0 IP, 7 H, 1 BB, 18 SO), second baseman Luis Arraez (.500, .1 HR, 4 RBI, 4 R, .548 OBP) and outfielder Bryan De La Cruz (.379, 3 2B, 3 RBI, 4 R, .483 SLG) of the Miami Marlins; starting pitcher Max Scherzer (2-0, 1.93 ERA, 2 GS, 14.0 IP, 11 H, 2 BB, 16 SO) of the New York Mets; first baseman Matt Olson (.286, 1 2B, 5 HR, 9 RBI, 7 R, 1.048 SLG) of the Atlanta Braves; infielder CJ Abrams (.417, 3 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 4 R, 2 SB, .667 SLG, .462 OBP) of the Washington Nationals; and closer Evan Phillips (0.00 ERA, 4 G, 3 SV, 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 4 SO) of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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Electric Play of the Week presented by Chevrolet

Diving Catch by George Springer of the Toronto Blue Jays

June 23^rd at Rogers Centre – Watch It Here

Outfielder George Springer of the Toronto Blue Jays claimed his third career Play of the Week Award (also July 26, 2021 and May 2, 2022). The 33-year-old is now one of six players to claim three Play of the Week Awards since the honor was introduced in 2019, joining Byron Buxton, Lorenzo Cain, Jonathan Davis, Riley Greene and teammate Kevin Kiermaier. Furthermore, the Blue Jays now have nine Play of the Week honors, two more than the Milwaukee Brewers, who rank second with seven. In the top of the ninth inning of a 4-4 game against the Oakland Athletics on Friday night, Springer sprinted in and made a fully-extended diving catch to take away a leadoff hit from Jace Peterson. Additional Play of the Week candidates included Corey Julks’ home-run robbing grab; Will Brennan’s terrific diving catch; Julio Rodríguez’s home-run robbing snag; Anthony Santander’s home run robbery; Brandon Crawford’s game-ending diving stop; Evan Longoria’s slick diving play at third base; and Andy Ibáñez’s leaping catch at the left field wall.