Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins named National League Player of the Week

Miami Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton has been named the National League Player of the Week for the period ending August 26th. The announcement was made earlier today on MLB Network.

In seven games last week, Stanton was tied for first in the Majors with five home runs while his .857 slugging percentage and 24 total bases both ranked first in the N.L. He collected eight RBI and seven runs scored during the week, tying for second and third in the N.L., respectively, while posting a .287 (8-for-28) batting average. The 22-year-old’s five home runs gave him 85 for his career, surpassing Andruw Jones (84) and Mickey Mantle (84) for the ninth-most all-time by a player under the age of 23. Stanton, who will turn 23 in November, is just one home run behind Jimmie Foxx (86) for eighth on the list and trails Johnny Bench and Ken Griffey, Jr. (both 87) by two. The All-Star slugger began the week with a 2-for-5, four-RBI effort, notching his sixth career multi-homer game and second in as many weeks (also on August 8th at the Mets) as the Marlins defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks, 12-3, at Chase Field. The following night, Stanton led Miami to its second straight victory at Arizona, going 3-for-6 and driving in the game-winning run with a single in the top of the 10th to give the Fish a 6-5 win. The California native continued his run-producing ways over the weekend in a three-game set against the Los Angeles Dodgers, launching solo shots in all three outings at Dodger Stadium, giving him 29 on the season. Since returning from the disabled list on August 7th, Stanton leads the N.L. with 10 home runs and a .789 slugging percentage. In addition, his 19 RBI during that span is tied for second in the league. This is his second career weekly award, having won previously for the week of August 9-15, 2010.

Other noteworthy performances last week included Stanton’s Marlins teammate Donovan Solano (.480, 12 H, 5 R, .567 OBP); Allen Craig (.440, 11 H, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 8 R, .500 OBP), Matt Holliday (.444, 12 H, 4 2B, 8 RBI) and Adam Wainwright (2-0, 1.23 ERA, CG, SHO, 14 SO, 14.2 IP) of the St. Louis Cardinals; Andre Ethier (.440, 11 H, 2 HR, 6 RBI, .760 SLG) of the Dodgers; Atlanta’s Jason Heyward (.393, 11 H, 4 HR, 8 RBI, .821 SLG); San Francisco’s Angel Pagan (.414, 12 H, 4 2B, 10 R, 2 SB); R.A. Dickey (1-0, 1.29 ERA, 8 SO, 14.O IP) of the New York Mets; and San Diego’s Edinson Volquez (2-0, 1.98 ERA, 17 SO, 13.2 IP).

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