Shortstop Francisco Lindor of the New York Mets has been named the National League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet, and shortstop Zach Neto of the Los Angeles Angels been named the American League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet. The announcements were made earlier today on MLB Network.
Lindor earned his fifth career honor and third with the Mets following awards on August 26th of last season and May 31, 2022. He won twice in 2018 with the Cleveland Indians, taking home the honor in consecutive weeks on May 7th and May 14th, and is one of 38 players to win multiple awards in each league. It is the second honor for New York this season, with Lindor joining his teammate Pete Alonso, who won on June 9th. Neto won his first career award, marking Los Angeles’ second award of the season following Taylor Ward’s honor on May 27th. He is the first Angels shortstop to win the award since Erick Aybar on September 18, 2011.
Francisco Lindor, New York Mets (@lindor12bc)
- The 31-year-old hit .560 (14-for-25) with three homers, seven RBI, three doubles, three walks, seven runs scored, two stolen bases, a 1.040 slugging percentage and a .607 on-base percentage across six contests.
- The Puerto Rico native led the Majors in batting average, on-base percentage, OPS (1.647), hits and total bases (26); tied for first in extra-base hits (6); ranked second in slugging; tied for third in homers; and tied for fifth in runs scored.
- The five-time All-Star hammered a pair of home runs and tallied four RBI on Friday against Seattle, marking his third multi-homer game of the year, while matching his season-high four RBI for a third time. Per MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, Lindor’s 22 career multi-homer games are the third-most as a shortstop in Major League history, trailing Alex Rodriguez (33) and Hall of Famer Ernie Banks (24). Additionally, his 22 career multi-homer games are tied with Kendrys Morales for 11th-most by a switch hitter in Baseball history.
- The four-time Silver Slugger and two-time Gold Glove winner recorded his 20th stolen base of the season on Saturday, stealing second base in the seventh inning to reach the 20-homer, 20-stolen base mark for the fifth time in his career. He became the first primary shortstop in Major League history with five separate 20-20 seasons, and his three 20-20 seasons as a Met are second-most in franchise history behind Darryl Strawberry and Howard Johnson, who each recorded five 20-20 seasons with the club.
- The eighth overall pick in the 2011 Draft (by CLE) turned in five consecutive multi-hit games from Wednesday against Atlanta through Sunday’s Little League Classic against Seattle. He registered two hits on Wednesday and Saturday while tallying three knocks each on Thursday, Friday and Sunday. It is the fourth time Lindor has registered at least five consecutive games with multiple hits and the first time since 2018, when he accomplished the feat twice, including a career-best six game streak from April 30th-May 4th. It is the second time this season a Met has recorded multiple hits in at least five consecutive games, following a six-game stretch by Lindor’s teammate Starling Marte from July 3rd-27th.
Zach Neto, Los Angeles Angels (@zachneto2)
- The 24-year-old hit .320 (8-for-25) with four homers, eight RBI, a double, three walks, five runs scored, an .840 slugging percentage and a .414 on-base percentage in six games.
- The Miami, Florida native tied for the Major League lead in home runs; tied for third in extra-base hits (5) and total bases (21); ranked fourth in slugging and OPS (1.254); and tied for seventh in RBI.
- The 13th overall pick in the 2022 Draft opened his week with a two-homer game against the Dodgers, reaching base five times with two walks and three runs scored. He became the first Angel to hit multiple home runs and reach base at least five times in a game since Jared Walsh on May 1, 2021 at Seattle, and the first Angel under the age of 25 to accomplish the feat since Mike Trout (24.041) on September 27, 2015 at Minnesota. Neto’s longball in the first inning marked the eighth leadoff homer of his career, all of which have come this season, surpassing Brian Downing (7 leadoff HR in 1987) for the most in a single season in Angels’ history.
- The Campbell University product launched his 20th homer of the year on Friday at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento against the Athletics, marking the second consecutive season he has reached 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases after recording 23 homers and 30 stolen bases in 2024. Neto is the fourth Angel to reach the 20-20 mark multiple times in his career, joining Don Baylor, Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. Additionally, he is the sixth player in AL history with multiple 20-20 seasons while primarily playing shortstop, joining Hall of Famer Alan Trammell, Alex Rodriguez, Hall of Famer Derek Jeter, Lindor and Bobby Witt Jr.
- Neto initiated the eighth triple play in Angels’ history on Tuesday night against the Dodgers, catching a line drive off the bat of Ohtani before stepping on second base and throwing to first base to get out of a jam in the sixth inning. His eight defensive runs saved are fifth-most as a shortstop in the Majors this season.
Other noteworthy NL performances for the week included outfielder/DH Christian Yelich (.400, 4 HR, 12 RBI, 1 2B, 2 BB, 6 R, .960 SLG) and catcher William Contreras (.400, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 2 2B, 4 BB, 4 R) of the Milwaukee Brewers; center fielder Michael Harris II (.444, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 2 2B, 6 R, 1 SB, .741 SLG) of the Atlanta Braves; left fielder Ramón Laureano (.474, 3 HR, 4 RBI, 2 2B, 2 BB, 7 R, 1 SB, 1.053 SLG, .545 OBP) of the San Diego Padres; Lindor’s teammate, catcher Francisco Alvarez (.450, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 3 2B, 7 R, 1.050 SLG); All-Star starting pitcher Andrew Abbott (1.84 ERA, 2 GS, 14.2 IP, 10 H, 0 BB, 13 SO) of the Cincinnati Reds; and closer Victor Vodnik (0.00 ERA, 4 G, 4 SV, 4.2 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 6 SO) of the Colorado Rockies.
Other noteworthy AL performances last week included outfielder Dylan Carlson (.438, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 1 3B, 4 R, .938 SLG, .526 OBP) and starting pitcher Dean Kremer (1-1, 0.60 ERA, 2 GS, 15.0 IP, 8 H, 2 BB, 13 SO) of the Baltimore Orioles; All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman (.400, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 1 2B, 3 BB, 4 R, .750 SLG) of the Boston Red Sox; All-Star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (.381, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 2B, 2 BB, 3 R, .762 SLG) of the Toronto Blue Jays; rookie outfielder Colby Thomas (.500, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 1 2B, 5 R, 1 SB, 1.000 SLG) of the Athletics; All-Star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (.429, 2 RBI, 1 2B, 3 BB, 6 R, .500 OBP) of the Kansas City Royals; first baseman/catcher Ben Rice (.348, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 2 2B, 5 BB, 4 R) and designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton (.538, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 1 2B, 1 BB, 2 R, 1.077 SLG, .571 OBP) of the New York Yankees; All-Star catcher Cal Raleigh (.350, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 2B, 4 BB, 4 R, 1 SB, .750 SLG) of the Seattle Mariners; and rookie outfielder Chandler Simpson (.435, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 5 R, 2 SB) of the Tampa Bay Rays.
ELECTRIC PLAY OF THE WEEK PRESENTED BY CHEVROLET
Over-the-Shoulder Diving Catch by Davis Schneider of the Toronto Blue Jays
August 14th at the Rogers Centre – Watch It Here
Blue Jays left fielder Davis Schneider earned his first career Play of the Week Award, marking the 10th award in Blue Jays’ history and Toronto’s first award since George Springer on June 26, 2023. Other Blue Jays to win the award include Jonathan Davis (2x, 5/29/2019 & 9/28/2020); Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (8/24/2020); Springer (3x, also: 7/26/2021 & 5/2/2022); and Kevin Kiermaier (3x, 7/17/2023, 5/22/2023 & 6/5/2023). Toronto is one of five franchises with at least 10 awards since the inception of the award in 2019, joining the Baltimore Orioles (14 awards), Milwaukee Brewers (12 awards), Atlanta Braves (10 awards) and New York Mets (10 awards). With no outs in a scoreless contest in the top the second inning, Owen Caissie of the Cubs dug in for his first career at-bat, sending a line drive to left field as Schneider ranged back and dove to take away a hit from Chicago’s top prospect, who was making his Major League debut in his home country. Additional Play of the Week candidates included Nolan McLean’s behind-the-back grab to start inning-ending double play; the Angels’ triple play; Jung Hoo Lee’s incredible catch between his knees at the warning track; Jesús Sánchez’s grand slam robbery; Robert Hassell II’s home run robbery; Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s great effort on a long throw to first; and Victor Scott II’s long run and diving catch.