Kevin Pillar of the Toronto Blue Jays named American League Player of the Week

Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Kevin Pillar has been named the American League Player of the Week for the period ending September 27th. The announcement was made earlier today on MLB Network.

Pillar batted .524 (11-for-21) with four runs scored, five doubles, two home runs, six RBI and five stolen bases over six
games to earn his first career AL weekly honor. Kevin paced the Majors in batting average, on-base percentage (.583) and stolen bases, and among his AL counterparts, the California State University product finished first in hits and slugging percentage (1.048), tied for first in doubles and second in total bases (22).

On Saturday against the Tampa Bay Rays at the Rogers Centre, Pillar went 3-for-4 with two doubles, two RBI, a run scored and a stolen base. The speedy third-year player recorded at least one RBI and one stolen base in his fourth consecutive contest, becoming the first Jays player to accomplish that feat since Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson did so in 1993. His seventh inning steal was the 25th stolen base for Pillar on the season and his 12th consecutive without being caught. Additionally, on Sunday, the West Hills, California native delivered his 43rd multi-hit game of the 2015 season, good for second on the club behind Josh Donaldson. Since August 22nd, the 26-year-old outfielder has produced a .325/.356/.512 slash line to go along with 18 runs scored, eight doubles, five home runs, 14 RBI and 10 stolen bases, propelling the Blue Jays to a 23-10 mark during the time. The slick-fielding Pillar also leads Major League outfielders in defensive putouts (432) and is tied for 10th in assists (10). Entering play today, Toronto, who has clinched its first Postseason berth since 1993, owns a 4.0 game lead in the AL East over the New York Yankees, and with a record of 90-65, is tied with the Kansas City Royals for the top mark in the AL.

Other noteworthy performances last week included Pillar's teammates Donaldson (8 R, 2 HR, 8 BB, .517 OBP) and David Price (2-0, 3.00 ERA, 12.0 IP, 13 SO); Jose Altuve (.400, 6 R, 5 2B, 2 HR) and Carlos Correa (.400, 10 H, 3 HR, 8 RBI) of the Houston Astros; Mookie Betts (.370, 8 R, 10 H, 3 2B) and Rich Hill (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 CG, 1 SHO) of the Boston Red Sox; and Adrian Beltre (.333, 5 R, 2 2B, 8 RBI) of the Texas Rangers.

In recognition of his American League Player of the Week Award, Kevin Pillar will be awarded a watch courtesy of Game Time, the leader in licensed sports watches, available at MLB.com.