Third baseman Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays and catcher Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners have been selected the American League Co-Players of the Wee**k presented by Chevrolet**, and outfielder Christian Yelich of the Milwaukee Brewers has been named the National League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet. The announcements were made earlier today on MLB Network.
Caminero won his first career award and is the first Ray to win the award since Isaac Paredes won on June 27, 2022. Raleigh also won his first career award and it marks the third honor for the Mariners this season following honors to Dylan Moore on April 21st and Jorge Polanco on April 28th. Raleigh is the second catcher to be named Player of the Week in either league this season, joining William Contreras’ honor on April 14th for Milwaukee, and the first AL catcher to earn a weekly award since Salvador Perez of the Kansas City Royals on August 28, 2021. He is the second catcher in Seattle’s history to win the award, joining Bob Stinson’s honor on April 14, 1978. Yelich earned his sixth career honor after previously winning three times in 2018 (7/30, 9/3 & 9/24); and twice in 2019 (4/1 & 4/22). It is the second award for Milwaukee this season following Contreras’ aforementioned honor on April 14th, marking the first time the Brewers have won multiple awards in a single season since 2022 (Willy Adames on 5/2 & Rowdy Tellez on 5/9).
Junior Caminero, Tampa Bay Rays (@junior.caminero_oficial)
- The 21-year-old hit .379 (11-for-29) with four homers, 13 RBI, four doubles, a walk, eight runs scored, a .931 slugging percentage and a .400 on-base percentage in seven games.
- The Dominican Republic native led the Majors in RBI, extra-base hits (8) and total bases (27); tied for second in homers and runs; ranked fourth in slugging; and ranked seventh in OPS (1.331).
- Caminero slugged a pair of home runs on Saturday at Houston in the Rays’ 16-3 win over the Astros. He added doubles in the fifth and seventh innings and finished the day with a team-high four hits and five RBI, becoming Tampa Bay’s seventh player with at least four hits and five RBI in a game, and the first since Kelly Johnson on May 27, 2013 against Miami (4 H, 6 RBI). Additionally, he became the first player in Rays’ history with four extra-base hits and five RBI in a game and the fifth-youngest player in Major League history to achieve the feat.
- The third baseman also drove home six runs with a three-hit performance in the series opener on Thursday at Houston, hitting an RBI single, a three-run homer and a two-run double. His six extra-base hits in the series marked the ninth time (fifth player) in Rays’ franchise history that a player had six extra-base hits in a series of any length. They were the most since Evan Longoria also had six extra-base hits in a four-game set against Toronto in May 2013.
- He became the third Rays player with at least 11 RBI over a three-game span and the first since Brandon Lowe also had 11 RBI in a three-game stretch to conclude 2021. Along with his two RBI in the series finale on Wednesday against Minnesota, his 13 RBI are tied for third-most in franchise history over a four-game stretch, trailing a trio of overlapping spans by Ben Zobrist in April 2011.
Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners (@calraleigh_)
- The 28-year-old hit .348 (8-for-23) with six homers, 10 RBI, three walks, six runs scored, a stolen base, a 1.130 slugging percentage and a .444 on-base percentage in six games.
- The Cullowhee, North Carolina native led the Majors in homers, slugging and OPS (1.574); ranked second in total baes (26); tied for second in extra-base hits (6); and ranked third in RBI.
- The 2024 Rawlings Gold Glove and Platinum Glove winner homered in four contests, going deep twice on Tuesday against Washington and Friday against Minnesota. With four multi-homer games this season, he now has 14 multi-homer games in his career and his 13 such games as a catcher are the most in the Majors since his debut in 2021, nearly double Willson Contreras’ seven multi-homer games during the stretch.
- After homering from both sides of the plate on April 16th, he homered twice from the left side on May 2nd and homered twice from the right side on Tuesday, becoming the first catcher in Major League history to accomplish all three in the same season. On Sunday against Minnesota, Raleigh slugged his 23rd longball of the year, passing Shohei Ohtani for sole possession of the Major League lead. With his first home run on Friday, he became the first catcher in Major League history to hit 20 homers before the end of May.
- The third-round selection in the 2018 Draft out of Florida State University has reached base safely in each of his last 12 games since May 20th, with hits in each of his last seven contests. During the on-base streak, he is batting .348 (16-for-46) with eight homers, 13 RBI, seven walks, a .444 on-base percentage, a .913 slugging percentage and a 1.357 OPS.
Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers (@christianyelich)
- The 33-year-old hit .500 (10-for-20) with three homers, nine RBI, a double, a walk, five runs scored, a stolen base, a 1.000 slugging percentage and a .545 on-base percentage across five games.
- The Thousand Oaks, California native tied for the Major League lead in batting average; ranked second in on-base percentage and OPS (1.545); tied for second in slugging; and tied for fourth in total bases (20).
- The three-time All-Star launched a walk-off grand slam on Tuesday night against Boston, marking his first career walk-off home run and the ninth walk-off grand slam in Brewers’ history. It was the first since Daniel Vogelbach slugged a walk-off slam on September 5, 2021 against St. Louis and the second walk-off slam across the Majors this year, joining Miami’s Kyle Stowers on May 3rd against the Athletics.
- The 2018 NL MVP hammered a pair of homers on Friday night at Philadelphia, launching a three-run homer in the fifth inning and a solo blast in the ninth for his 12th career multi-homer game and his 23rd career game with at least four RBI. His eight RBI over the three-game stretch from Tuesday to Friday marked his most in a three-game stretch since driving home eight in a three-game stretch to close out last May.
- The three-time Silver Slugger and two-time batting champion has reached base safely in each of his last nine contests, racking up six multi-hit contests. He tallied a season-high four hits on Saturday at Philadelphia, going 4-for-6 with four singles, an RBI and a run scored. Yelich became the third Brewer with four singles in a game this season, joining teammates Sal Frelick (5/28) and Brice Turang (4/22).
Other noteworthy AL performances for the week included starting pitcher Garrett Crochet (1-1, 1.98 ERA, 2 GS, 13.2 IP, 10 H, 2 HR, 23 SO) of the Boston Red Sox; infielder Ernie Clement (.433, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 4 2B, 6 R, .767 SLG) and outfielder George Springer (.333, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 1 2B, 4 BB, 7 R, .810 SLG) of the Toronto Blue Jays; starting pitcher Hunter Brown (2-0, 0.75 ERA, 2 GS, 12.0 IP, 7 H, 4 BB, 13 SO) and shortstop Jeremy Peña (.435, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 1 2B, 2 BB, 6 R, .870 SLG) of the Houston Astros; Caminero’s teammates, starting pitcher Zack Littell (2-0, 2.35 ERA, 2 GS, 1 CG, 15.1 IP, 13 H, 1 BB, 10 SO) and first baseman Jonathan Aranda (.500, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 3 2B, 4 BB, 7 R, .800 SLG, .600 OBP); third baseman José Ramírez (.478, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 3 2B, 2 BB, 6 R, 1 SB, .870 SLG, .538 OBP) and first baseman Carlos Santana (.529, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 4 BB, 4 R, .619 OBP) of the Cleveland Guardians; starting pitcher Charlie Morton (2-0, 1.42 ERA, 2 GS, 12.2 IP, 10 H, 3 BB, 12 SO) of the Baltimore Orioles; and starting pitcher Ryan Yarbrough (2-0, 1.50, 2 GS, 12.0 IP, 6 H, 1 BB, 12 SO) of the New York Yankees.
Other noteworthy NL performances last week included third baseman Max Muncy (.368, 4 HR, 12 RBI, 2 BB, 6 R, 1 SB, 1.000 SLG) and outfielder Andy Pages (.375, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 1 2B, 3 BB, 4 R) of the Los Angeles Dodgers; Yelich’s outfield teammate, Jackson Chourio (.357, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 3 2B, 1 BB, 8 R, 2 SB, .679 SLG); reliever Ryne Nelson (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 G, 1 GS, 10.2 IP, 6 H, 0 BB, 5 SO) of the Arizona Diamondbacks; designated hitter Josh Bell (.391, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 3 BB, 5 R, .783 SLG) and left fielder James Wood (.304, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 2 2B, 6 BB, 5 R, 2 SB, .783 SLG) of the Washington Nationals; shortstop Francisco Lindor (.360, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 1 2B, 2 BB, 6 R, .760 SLG) of the New York Mets; catcher/designated hitter Tyler Stephenson (.364, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 1 BB, 3 R, .773 SLG) and starting pitcher Andrew Abbott (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 GS, 7.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 8 SO) of the Cincinnati Reds; starting pitcher Jameson Taillon (2-0, 2.13 ERA, 2 GS, 12.2 IP, 7 H, 1 BB, 9 SO) of the Chicago Cubs; and starting pitcher Ranger Suárez (2-0, 2.13 ERA, 12.2 IP, 7 H, 1 BB, 9 SO) of the Philadelphia Phillies.
ELECTRIC PLAY OF THE WEEK PRESENTED BY CHEVROLET
Incredible Home Run Robbery by Denzel Clarke of the Athletics
May 30th at the Rogers Centre – Watch It Here
Athletics rookie center fielder Denzel Clarke earned his first career Play of the Week Award in his native Toronto and the Athletics’ seventh honor since the inception of the award in 2019. Other A’s to win the award include Ramón Laureano (4/21/2019); Elvis Andrus (4/5/2021); Tony Kemp (2x: 5/24/2021 & 5/16/2022); Matt Chapman (8/16/2021); and Max Schuemann (5/13/2024). With the Blue Jays holding on to a 6-3 lead over the A’s in Clarke’s hometown ballpark, Alejandro Kirk lifted a ball to deep center field to lead off the fourth inning as Clarke ranged back, climbed the wall and made the amazing catch. Additional Play of the Week candidates included Dane Myers’ run-saving leaping grab; Bo Bichette’s barehand play off the deflection; Michael Harris II’s home run robbery; Julio Rodríguez’s outfield assist to keep the game tied; and Carlos Rodón’s stop and jump throw to first.