NEW YORK — Two Latinos will be taking home some hardware this week after they earned Player of the Week Awards for their contributions in the first week of August.
Fernando Tatis Jr. has been awarded his first career National League Player of the Week Award, following a jaw-dropping performance at the plate the past six games.
One of many awards for the 21-year-old, who hit six home runs, nine RBI, a double and seven runs in six games. After slugging a home run in Sunday’s matchup against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Tatis Jr. became the ninth player in Major League history at 21 years old or younger to hit home runs in four consecutive games.
In 2020, the Padres young phenom has slugged eight home runs 18 RBI and slashed .333/.417/.810 — tied with New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge for the Major League lead in home runs.
“This game is about approach, man. I’m coming day-to-day to work over here and try to do the job … more at-bats we get the better we feel at the plate,” Tatis Jr. said after hitting two home runs in Saturday’s matinee against the Diamondbacks. “It’s approach I learned a lot from last year … Wherever they need me, I’m going to work for it.”
According to MLB’s Sarah Langs, Tatis Jr. hit his 30th career home run in his 100th career game — tying Aaron Judge and Ryan Braun for the seventh most home runs in a hundred game span.
His contributions to a 9-7 San Diego Padres club has seated the team in third place in the National League West — skimming the Colorado Rockies lead in the division by 2.5 games.
For the Oakland Athletics, their 27-year-old ace Frankie Montas, will receive his first career American League Player of the Week Award.
Montas seemingly worked through the Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros lineup in his second and third starts of the season. In those two starts on the mound, Montas has tallied 14 strikeouts, 4 walks, six hits, 0.64 ERA in 14 innings pitched.
The Sainagua, Dominican Republic native has helped carry his team to a 12-4 record — best record in the American League and second-best in the league for winning percentage (.750) behind the Chicago Cubs (.769).
With a promising finish to the 2019 season — 9-2 record, 2.93 ERA, 103 strikeouts in 96 innings pitched — Montas has shown quick poise in the shortened 60-game season. Something that holds true value within an Oakland team that has been vying for an opportunity to showcase their talented roster and sustain early talks for a postseason run.
