Giancarlo's prodigious power nets weekly honor

August 14th, 2017

has crushed his way to National League Player of the Week honors.
The Marlins right fielder was named NL Player of the Week on Monday after slugging six home runs last week to bring his Major League-leading home run total to 42. His 42nd homer on Sunday against the Rockies -- the 250th of his career -- tied him with Gary Sheffield for the Marlins' single-season franchise record.
Past winners
"I remember watching [Sheffield] a lot with the Dodgers," Stanton said on Sunday. "I enjoyed watching him play as a kid. … It's definitely good company."

In what was once a deadlocked race with the Yankees' for the Major League home run crown, Stanton has opened up a seven-homer lead, pacing the Majors over Judge's 35.
Stanton also finished the week with a .333 batting average and a 1.037 slugging percentage, and he drove in 11 runs in his seven games. He led the Majors in homers and RBIs, led the NL in slugging and ranked fourth in the NL with a 1.416 OPS.
"Obviously, it's been more than a week, and it's been really fun to watch," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. "It's good to see him being able to do the things he is doing. It looks like he's having some fun. Obviously, when he's doing that, it puts us in a lot better position."
This is the fifth career Player of the Week award for Stanton. The 27-year-old last took home the honors in July 2016, and he also won in June 2015, August '12 and August '10, his rookie season with the Marlins.