Byron Buxton continues to show what he can do when healthy, while young stars Jacob Misiorowski and Jackson Chourio took turns putting on a show for the Brewers, as all three took home the hardware as the latest AL and NL Player of the Week recipients.
Buxton, who also won the AL POTW on May 4, went 11-for-24 (.458) with three doubles, four home runs, seven RBIs, six runs scored and a steal in six games last week. With 22 home runs in 61 games thus far, the 32-year-old is on pace to surpass the career high of 35 he set a year ago, and overall he's slashing .276/.336/.600 with a 153 OPS+.
Buxton's four career Player of the Week Awards are tied with franchise icons Kent Hrbek, Joe Mauer and Kirby Puckett for the most in Twins history.
Like Buxton, Misiorowski also won a POTW Award earlier this season (earlier this month, actually), though it's safe to say The Miz outdid himself with his most recent performance on Friday against the Phillies. In addition to striking out 15 in a one-hit shutout, the 23-year-old right-hander threw a record 58 of his 95 pitches at least 100 mph, including a 104.5 mph heater that was the fastest pitch from a starter since pitch tracking began in 2008.
Chourio, meanwhile, went 13-for-29 (.448) with five homers, 10 RBIs and eight runs scored in six games. It was the first Player of the Week Award for the 22-year-old slugger, who hit safely and drove in at least one run in each game last week.
This marks the first time Brewers players have earned co-honors, and the first time any teammates have shared the award since Yordan Alvarez and Alex Bregman with the Astros on Aug. 12, 2024. The most recent time NL teammates pulled off the feat was Aug. 22, 2022, when the Cardinals' Albert Pujols and Paul Goldschmidt were co-winners.
Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio earned Play of the Week honors with one of the most ridiculously athletic defensive gems we've seen all season. With runners at the corners and one out in the eighth inning of a tie game, Rocchio made a backhanded stop of a hard-hit Jazz Chisholm grounder up the middle, tagged second base while sliding past the bag and threw on to first to complete the clutch double play. Words alone don't do it justice. Watch the clip above to fully appreciate its artistic beauty.
This was Rocchio's second career Play of the Week Award after previously winning it on Sept. 15 of last season. Overall, it is the sixth time a Guardians player has won the honor since its inception in 2019.