Fresh off his first career All-Star Game start, Nolan Arenado went on a weeklong tear that all but cemented his status as one of the best players in baseball.
The Rockies' third baseman was rewarded for it Monday, earning his fourth career National League Player of the Week Award for a seven-day stretch that featured probably Arenado's best career game.
Arenado hit .458 (11-for-24) with four home runs and 13 RBIs last week, with three of the homers and seven RBIs coming in a 18-4 thrashing of the Padres on Wednesday. The first three-homer game of Arenado's career was the 16th in Rockies history and seventh in the Majors this season. The seven-RBI game was the second in as many seasons for Arenado, who is well on his way to a third consecutive RBI crown.
Arenado followed his monster day with another homer two days later against the Pirates, and he drove in four more runs over the next two days to cap a week during which the Rockies went 5-1.
Colorado entered play Monday in sole possession of the NL's top Wild Card spot. Arenado has driven in 86 runs to help that cause, seven more than the next closest player in baseball, Arizona's Jake Lamb. The slugger is also on pace to set career highs in doubles, batting average (.314) and slugging percentage (.590).
Arenado is the second Rockies player to win a NL Player of the Week Award this season, joining outfielder Charlie Blackmon, who did so in May.