Will Benson and Miguel Vargas Named Players of the Week Presented by Chevrolet

Outfielder Will Benson of the Cincinnati Reds has been selected the National League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet, and third baseman Miguel Vargas of the Chicago White Sox has been named the American League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet. The announcements were made earlier today on MLB Network.

Benson won his first career award, marking the first award for the Reds since Rece Hinds won last year on July 22^nd. Vargas also earned his first career honor, marking the first honor for Chicago since Luis Robert Jr. won on June 26, 2023 and the first honor for a White Sox infielder since José Abreu won on May 31, 2021.

Will Benson, Cincinnati Reds (@willybeamin29)

• The 26-year-old hit .526 (10-for-19) with five homers, 10 RBI, a double, three walks, five runs scored, a stolen base, a 1.368 slugging percentage and a .591 on-base percentage.
• The Atlanta, Georgia native led the Majors in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging, OPS (1.959), homers and total bases (26); tied for the Major League lead in RBI and extra-base hits (6); and tied for fourth in hits.
• The 14^th overall selection in the 2016 Draft (by CLE) homered in a career-best four consecutive games to close the week, including his first career multi-homer game on Sunday against Cleveland. He is the first Red with a homer in four consecutive games since TJ Friedl also homered in four straight contests from September 22-26, 2023. Along with his double on Wednesday against the White Sox, Benson has an extra-base hit in a career-high five consecutive games, marking the longest such streak since Jonathan India had an extra-base hit in eight consecutive games from June 23^rd-30^th last season.
• The Westminster High School product is the first Red with five homers in a four-game span since Joey Votto in July 2021 and the first Red under the age of 27 to achieve the feat since Aristides Aquino in August 2019. Benson’s four homers and seven RBI in the first leg of this year’s Ohio Cup marked the first time a Red hit at least four homers and tallied at least seven RBI in a three-game series since Aaron Boone in August 2002 against San Diego.
• After being recalled from Triple-A Louisville on May 9^th, Benson has hit safely in seven of his eight games, with a hit in all six of his contests last week. His current six-game hitting streak is the longest single-season streak of his career and second-longest overall, trailing a seven-game stretch from September 27, 2023-March 31, 2024.

Miguel Vargas, Chicago White Sox (@miggy__13)

• The 25-year-old hit .417 (10-for-24) with four homers, nine RBI, two doubles, five runs scored, a 1.000 slugging percentage and a .423 on-base percentage.
• The Cuba native ranked second in the Majors in slugging and total bases (24); tied for second in homers; ranked third in OPS (1.423); tied for fourth in RBI and hits; and ranked sixth in batting average.
• The third baseman went 4-for-4 with a pair of home runs, three RBI and a double on Friday against the Cubs to begin the Crosstown Classic, tying his career-high four hits (also: May 2, 2023 vs. PHI). His performance marked the first game by a White Sox player with at least four hits and multiple homers while reaching base safely in all of his plate appearances since Seby Zavala on July 31, 2021. Vargas is the fourth White Sox player under the age of 26 to accomplish the feat and the first since Hall of Famer Frank Thomas on July 27, 1993.
• Acquired by the White Sox in a three-team trade from the Dodgers on July 29^th last season, Vargas tallied four multiple hit games last week, collecting two hits on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday in addition to his four-hit game on Friday. He is Chicago’s first player with at least 10 hits, nine RBI and five runs scored in a six-game span since Eloy Jiménez in May 2023.
• Vargas tallied an RBI in each of his last four games to close the week, tying the longest streak of his career after he also drove home a run in four straight games from April 30-May 3, 2023 as a member of the Dodgers. His three homers and five RBI in the Crosstown Classic against the Cubs marked the most by a White Sox player in a three-game series since Jake Burger also had three homers and five RBI in a three-game set with Baltimore in April 2023.

Other noteworthy NL performances for the week included outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (.458, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 1 2B, 2 3B, 1 BB, 5 R, 1 SB, .917 SLG) of the Chicago Cubs; starting pitcher Merrill Kelly (2-0, 0.64 ERA, 2 GS, 14.0 IP, 9 H, 3 BB, 19 SO) and outfielder Corbin Carroll (.308, 3 HR, 4 RBI, 1 2B, 3 BB, 7 R, 4 SB) of the Arizona Diamondbacks; starting pitcher Paul Skenes (1.29 ERA, 2 GS, 1 CG, 14.0 IP, 9 H, 4 BB, 15 SO) of the Pittsburgh Pirates; shortstop CJ Abrams (.300, 4 HR, 4 RBI, 2 2B, 2 BB, 8 R, 1 SB, .767 SLG) of the Washington Nationals; designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (.346, 4 HR, 9 RBI, 3 BB, 6 R, .808 SLG) and third baseman Max Muncy (.353, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 1 2B, 3 BB, 3 R, .765 SLG) of the Los Angeles Dodgers; designated hitter Wilmer Flores (.348, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 5 BB, 6 R, .739 SLG) of the San Francisco Giants; rookie catcher Drake Baldwin (.556, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 1 2B, 5 R, .944 SLG, .556 OBP) of the Atlanta Braves; rookie starting pitcher Mick Abel (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 GS, 6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 BB, 9 SO) of the Philadelphia Phillies; and catcher/designated hitter Hunter Goodman (.360, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 3 2B, 1 BB, 3 R) of the Colorado Rockies.

Other noteworthy AL performances last week included outfielder Cody Bellinger (.458, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 4 2B, 4 BB, 6 R, .875 SLG, .536 OBP) of the New York Yankees; outfielder Riley Greene (.385, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 3 2B, 1 BB, 4 R, .731 SLG) and rookie starting pitcher Jackson Jobe (2-0, 2.31 ERA, 2 GS, 11.2 IP, 9 H, 7 BB, 12 SO) of the Detroit Tigers; starting pitcher Bryan Woo (1-0, 0.68 ERA, 2 GS, 13.1 IP, 9 H, 0 BB, 11 SO) of the Seattle Mariners; infielder Kody Clemens (.400, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 1 2B, 3 BB, 3 R, .750 SLG) of the Minnesota Twins; third baseman José Ramírez (.364, 3 HR, 1 2B, 3 BB, 7 R, 2 SB, .818 SLG) of the Cleveland Guardians; shortstop Zach Neto (.333, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 3 2B, 3 BB, 7 R, .833 SLG) of the Los Angeles Angels; third baseman Josh Jung (.360, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 1 BB, 6 R, 1 SB, .720 SLG) and starting pitcher Tyler Mahle (2-0, 1.46 ERA, 2 GS, 12.1 IP, 9 H, 3 BB, 8 SO) of the Texas Rangers; starting pitcher Framber Valdez (1-0, 2.40 ERA, 2 GS, 15.0 IP, 2 BB, 15 SO) of the Houston Astros; designated hitter Rafael Devers (.348, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 2 2B, 4 BB, 4 R) of the Boston Red Sox; and second baseman Brandon Lowe (.375, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 1 2B, 3 BB, 5 R) of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Electric Play of the Week presented by Chevrolet

Home Run Robbery by Jackson Chourio of the Milwaukee Brewers

May 18^th at American Family Field – Watch It Here

Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Jackson Chourio earned his first career Play of the Week Award and Milwaukee’s 12^th honor since the inception of the award in 2019, marking the second-most in the Majors behind only the Baltimore Orioles’ 13 awards. Other Brewers to win include Lorenzo Cain (3x – 3/28/2019, 4/26/2019, 7/22/2019); Jackie Bradley Jr. (5/17/2021); Luis Urías (2x – 6/7/2021 & 7/19/2021); Jonathan Davis (7/5/2022); and Sal Frelick (4x – 9/11/2023, 5/20/2024, 6/24/2024 & 9/16/2024). With the Brewers leading the streaking Twins by a pair of runs in the eighth inning, Royce Lewis hammered a ball to deep center field for what appeared to be a game-tying two-run homer, but Chourio chased it down and leaped at the wall to make the catch. The defensive gem helped the Brewers earn the victory and snap the Twins’ 13-game winning streak. Additional Play of the Week candidates included Michael Harris II’s catch and hard collision with the wall; Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela’s teamwork for the home run robbery; Akil Baddoo’s leaping catch at the wall; Michael Massey’s diving stop to start the inning-ending double play; Cedric Mullins’ great catch at the wall; and Julio Rodríguez’s home run robbery.