Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Jake Lamb has been named the National League Player of the Week for the period ending May 21st. The announcement was made earlier today on MLB Network.
            
Lamb batted .412 (7-for-17) with seven runs scored, a double, four home runs and 10 RBI over five games to claim his second career NL Player of the Week Award, last winning on July 17, 2016. Among his NL counterparts, Jake finished the period first in RBI and slugging percentage (1.176); tied for first in runs scored and home runs; second in on-base percentage (.565); tied for second in extra-base hits (5) and walks (6); third in total bases (20); and sixth in batting average. This is Arizona's first weekly award since Jake's teammate Brandon Drury took home NL weekly honors last season (September 18th).
            
On Friday night against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park, Lamb went 2-for-5 with a pair of home runs and five RBI. It was Jake's first career multi-home run game and he also established a career-high in RBI. With his fourth round-tripper in three games, the Seattle, Washington native homered in three consecutive games for the second time in his career (also June 28-July 1, 2016). Lamb, who was drafted by Arizona in the sixth round of the 2012 MLB Draft, followed up his explosive Friday night performance by going 2-for-3 on Saturday with two runs scored, a double and two RBI. It was the fourth straight game that the University of Washington product plated at least one run, a stretch that saw him bat .500 (7-for-14) with a double, four home runs and 10 RBI. The multi-hit effort also extended his hitting streak to eight games, a torrid stretch in which he slashed .469/.564/.938 with seven extra-base hits, eight runs scored and 13 RBI, leading the Diamondbacks to a 6-2 record. Arizona's offense has served as the catalyst for their strong start to the 2017 campaign. Among NL teams entering play today, the D-backs rank first in runs scored (246) and hits (417); second in batting average (.267); and third in home runs (62), on-base percentage (.335) and slugging percentage (.453). Arizona is tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the third-best record in the senior circuit (26-19).
Outfielder Matt Kemp (.464, 7 R, 13 H, 6 XBH) was also excellent for the Atlanta Braves last week. Entering play today, the two-time NL All-Star (2011-12) has reached base safely in every game since April 21st, a 25-game stretch that has seen him bat .355 (38-for-107) with 19 runs scored, nine doubles, six home runs and 21 RBI. In the midst of an excellent month of May, Kemp has recorded a hit in 16-of-18 games and has seen his batting average increase by 30 points, from an already-excellent .321 to .351. Moreover, second baseman Adam Frazier (.500, 5 R, 12 H, 2 2B) of the Pittsburgh Pirates propelled the Buccos to a 4-2 record during his great week. The Mississippi State University product has logged multi-hit efforts in each of his last six starts. Since breaking into the Majors last season, the Pirates are 15-4 in games which Frazier collects at least two hits. In 14 games as Pittsburgh's leadoff hitter, the 25-year-old is hitting .413 (26-for-63) with 10 runs scored and nine RBI. Other noteworthy performances last week included starting pitcher Carlos Martínez (0.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 5 SO) of the St. Louis Cardinals; first baseman Justin Bour (.375, 9 H, 4 HR, .917 SLG) of the Miami Marlins; and starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg (2-0, 3.29 ERA, 13.2 IP, 14 SO) of the Washington Nationals.
In recognition of his National League Player of the Week Award, Jake Lamb will be awarded a watch courtesy of Rockwell.