Catcher Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners has been selected the American League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet, and third baseman Eugenio Suárez of the Arizona Diamondbacks has been named the National League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet. The announcements were made earlier today on MLB Network.
Raleigh won his second career award after previously winning earlier this month on June 2nd. It is the fourth award for Seattle this season, with Raleigh’s pair of awards joining Dylan Moore on April 21st and Jorge Polanco on April 28th. The Mariners’ four awards are their most in a single season since 1998, when David Segui (April 5th); Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. (2x, May 10th & July 5th); and Alex Rodriguez (June 28th) were each honored. Additionally, Raleigh is the first catcher to win multiple awards in a single season since Gary Sánchez won back-to-back awards in August 2016 for the New York Yankees. Suárez earned the third honor of his career, with all three honors coming this season, following awards on March 31st and April 28th. It is the first time since 2019 that Arizona won at least three awards in a season, and Suárez’s three honors are the most in a single season by a Diamondback.
Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners (@calraleigh_)
Image Credit: MLB
- The 28-year-old hit .417 (10-for-24) with five homers, 12 RBI, two doubles, three walks, 10 runs scored, two stolen bases, a 1.125 slugging percentage and a .481 on-base percentage.
- The Cullowhee, North Carolina native led the Majors in RBI; tied for the Major League lead in extra-base hits (7); and ranked second in homers, slugging, OPS (1.606), runs scored and total bases (27).
- The 2024 Rawlings Gold Glove and Platinum Glove winner has homered in each of his last three games, including a two-homer game on Friday at Wrigley Field for his Major League-leading sixth multi-homer game of the year. His Major League-leading 31 homers are the most by a primary catcher before the All-Star Break in Major League history, surpassing the previous mark of 28 set by Hall of Famer Johnny Bench in 1970. Additionally, his 31 homers are the most by a switch-hitter before the All-Star Break, surpassing the previous mark of 29, accomplished four times overall and most recently by José Ramírez in 2018. With 20 games remaining for Seattle in the first half, he is attempting to chase Barry Bonds, who hit a Major League-record 39 home runs before the All-Star Break in 2001 for San Francisco en route to his historic 73-homer season.
- Raleigh, who currently leads all AL catchers in voting and has the second-most votes for the AL All-Star team, trailing only Aaron Judge of the Yankees, has now homered in three consecutive games on three occasions this season, becoming the fifth Mariner (sixth occasion) to homer in at least three straight games on three separate occasions in a single season and the first since Nelson Cruz in 2017.
- The third-round selection in the 2018 Draft out of Florida State University tied his career high with six RBI on Tuesday against Boston, joining a six-RBI performance on August 21, 2023. His 10 hits and 12 RBI to close the week were the most in a five-game span by a Mariner since August 2023, when his teammate Julio Rodríguez had a pair of overlapping spans with 16 hits/12 RBI and 13 hits/12 RBI.
Eugenio Suárez, Arizona Diamondbacks (@eugenio_suarez7)
Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
- The 33-year-old hit .440 (11-for-25) with four homers, 10 RBI, two doubles, five runs scored, a 1.000 slugging percentage and a .464 on-base percentage.
- The Venezuela native ranked third in the Majors in total bases (25); tied for third in home runs and slugging; ranked fourth in OPS (1.464); tied for fourth in hits and extra-base hits (6); and ranked seventh in batting average.
- The 2018 NL All-Star tallied four hits, including a pair of home runs, on Friday at Colorado, marking his second four-hit game of the season and eighth career contest with at least four knocks, with his second homer of the day marking his 300th career longball (see a special postgame moment in the clubhouse here). It was his third multi-homer game of the year, joining a two-homer game on March 28th and a historic four-homer game on April 26th.
- Along with his three-hit, four-RBI game on Thursday at Toronto and his two-hit, two-RBI game on Saturday at Colorado, he became the seventh Diamondback with multiple hits, multiple RBI and a home run in three consecutive games, and the first since his teammate Ketel Marte last July. The 12-year veteran leads the Majors with 10 home runs and 25 RBI this month, and he is one of three players with at least 25 homers and 60 RBI this season, joining Judge (27 HR/61 RBI) and Raleigh (31 HR/66 RBI).
- His 301 career homers rank third all-time among Venezuelan-born players, behind Miguel Cabrera (511) and Andrés Galarraga (399). Since the start of July 2024, Suárez’s 136 RBI are the most in the Majors, while his 49 home runs are tied fourth-most in the Majors behind Raleigh (51), Judge (54) and Shohei Ohtani (54).
Other noteworthy AL performances for the week included left fielder Riley Greene (.478, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 3 2B, 2 BB, 7 R, 1.000 SLG, .500 OBP) and infielder/outfielder Javier Báez (.412, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 1 3B, 7 R, .882 SLG) of the Detroit Tigers; center fielder Byron Buxton (.391, 6 HR, 6 RBI, 1 2B, 4 BB, 7 R, 1 SB, 1.217 SLG) of the Minnesota Twins; Raleigh’s teammate, first baseman Donovan Solano (.556, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 1 2B, 1 BB, 2 R, .944 SLG); starting pitcher Ryan Pepiot (2-0, 1.38 ERA, 2 GS, 13.0 IP, 7 H, 4 BB, 18 SO), designated hitter Yandy Díaz (.433, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 2B, 1 BB, 6 R) and third baseman Junior Caminero (.478, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 1 2B, 2 BB, 5 R) of the Tampa Bay Rays; starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 GS, 14.2 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 8 SO) of the New York Yankees; starting pitcher José Soriano (1-0, 0.66 ERA, 2 GS, 13.2 IP, 9 H, 4 BB, 16 SO) of the Los Angeles Angels; shortstop Bo Bichette (.407, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 2 2B, 1 BB, 5 R, .815 SLG) of the Toronto Blue Jays; center fielder Jake Meyers (.429, 4 RBI, 1 2B, 1 BB, 5 R, 2 SB) and infielder/outfielder Mauricio Dubón (.375, 4 HR, 5 RBI, 3 2B, 3 BB, 7 R, 1.000 SLG) of the Houston Astros; starting pitcher Slade Cecconi (2-0, 1.50 ERA, 12.0 IP, 10 H, 4 BB, 9 SO) and closer Emmanuel Clase (0.00 ERA, 4 G, 4 SV, 4.0 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 3 SO) of the Cleveland Guardians; and rookie first baseman Nick Kurtz (.296, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 2 2B, 2 BB, 6 R, .815 SLG) of the A’s, who hit two walk-off home runs.
Other noteworthy NL performances last week included designated hitter Christian Yelich (.478, 11 RBI, 4 2B, 1 BB, 2 R, 2 SB, .500 OBP) of the Milwaukee Brewers; outfielder Mickey Moniak (.348, 4 HR, 9 RBI, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 BB, 6 R, 1.000 SLG) and starting pitcher Antonio Senzatela (2-0, 1.74 ERA, 2 GS, 10.1 IP, 7 H, 4 BB, 5 SO) of the Colorado Rockies; shortstop Xander Bogaerts (.429, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 4 2B, 2 BB, 4 R) of the San Diego Padres; left fielder Ian Happ (.250, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 3 BB, 5 R, .850 SLG) of the Chicago Cubs; infielder Casey Schmitt (.476, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 2B, 2 BB, 5 R, .522 OBP) of the San Francisco Giants; Suárez’s teammate, second baseman Ketel Marte (.458, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 5 2B, 2 BB, 8 R, .500 OBP); right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. (.421, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 2B, 8 BB, 11 R, 1 SB, .593 OBP) of the Atlanta Braves; outfielder Andy Pages (.400, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 2 2B, 6 R, .840 SLG) and catcher Will Smith (.444, 3 HR, 4 RBI, 3 2B, 2 BB, 6 R, 1.111 SLG, .500 OBP) of the Los Angeles Dodgers; infielder/outfielder Alec Burleson (.385, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 1 2B, 1 BB, 4 R) of the St. Louis Cardinals; and starting pitcher Andrew Abbott (1-0, 1.42 ERA, 2 GS, 12.2 IP, 11 H, 0 BB, 8 SO) of the Cincinnati Reds.
Press Release Courtesy of Major League Baseball
Follow us on Social Media for updates and exclusive content
Instagram: @latinosportsoficial
Facebook: Latino Sports
Twitter: @latinosports
