Yandy Díaz of the Rays named AL Player of the Week; Matt Olson of the Braves named NL Player of the Week

Image Credit: Bill Menzel and Simon Lindenblatt/Latino Sports

Designated hitter Yandy Díaz of the Tampa Bay Rays has been named the American League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet, and first baseman Matt Olson of the Atlanta Braves has been named the National League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet. The announcements were made earlier today on MLB Network.

Díaz earned his first career award and is the second Rays player to earn the honor this season, joining his teammate Junior Caminero, who won on June 2^nd. It is the first time multiple Rays players have won the award in the same season since 2022, when Manuel Margot (May 9^th) and Isaac Paredes (June 27^th) were both honored.

Olson earned his fourth career honor after previously winning on October 6, 2022; August 14, 2023; and September 11, 2023. It is the third recognition for the Braves this season, following awards to Ronald Acuña Jr. (June 16^th) and Michael Harris II (July 28^th). Olson is the ninth Brave to win at least four awards with the club, joining Hall of Famer Greg Maddux (6x); Acuña (5x); Freddie Freeman (5x); Hall of Famer Hank Aaron (4x); Bob Horner (4x); Andruw Jones (4x) Hall of Famer Chipper Jones (4x); and Dale Murphy (4x).

Yandy Díaz, Tampa Bay Rays (@yandydiaz2)

• The 34-year-old hit .591 (13-for-22) with a homer, four RBI, two doubles, nine walks, five runs scored, an .818 slugging percentage and a .710 on-base percentage in seven games.
• The Cuba native led the Majors in batting average, on-base percentage, OPS (1.528) and hits; tied for the Major League lead in walks; tied for eighth in total bases (18); and ranked ninth in slugging.

• The 2023 AL All-Star racked up five multi-hit games and drew a walk in each game, reaching base safely in 22 of his 31 plate appearances. His 20 times on base through the first six games of the week tied the franchise record for the most by a player through a single-season six-game span, matching Julio Lugo in June 2006 and Carl Crawford in August 2007. Díaz reached base safely in each of his first eight plate appearances of the week.
• The 2023 Rod Carew AL Batting Champion has drawn a walk in each of his last eight games since September 14^th and has drawn 12 walks in his last 11 contests since September 10^th. His current eight-game streak is tied for the third-longest in franchise history and is the longest since Ben Zobrist walked in nine consecutive games in May 2011. Diaz’s 12 walks are the most in an 11-game span for Tampa Bay since Isaac Paredes also had 12 walks in an 11-game stretch last July.
• The 2023 Silver Slugger is riding a 10-game on-base streak and is one double away from joining Zobrist as the only players in Rays’ history with at least 30 doubles in four consecutive seasons. His 53 multi-hit games are the most in the Majors this season, while his 173 hits are fourth-most.

Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves (@matt_olson21)

• The 31-year-old hit .400 (12-for-30) with three homers, 10 RBI, four doubles, a triple, four walks, nine runs scored, a .900 slugging percentage and a .486 on-base percentage across seven games.
• The Atlanta native led the Majors in extra-base hits (8) and total bases (27); tied for the Major League lead in runs scored and doubles; ranked second in slugging and hits; tied for second in RBI; ranked fourth in OPS (1.386); and ranked eighth in batting average.

• The three-time All-Star started his week with a four-hit, four-RBI game on Monday against Washington, marking his fifth career game with at least four hits and four RBI and his first since June 30, 2023. He hammered a three-run homer in the fifth inning and added an RBI double in the seventh.
• The 2023 Silver Slugger also homered in the first game of Tuesday’s doubleheader at Nationals Park, marking his fourth consecutive game with a longball. The four-game streak is tied for the second-longest of his career and is his longest since he also homered in four consecutive games from September 3-7, 2023. He added a homer in the series finale on Wednesday and along with an RBI on Friday at Detroit, he had an RBI in seven consecutive games, tied for the second-longest streak of his career. His seven consecutive games with an RBI and a hit matched his career best, accomplished from July 12-22, 2022 and from August 24-30, 2024.
• The two-time Rawlings Gold Glover has played in 776 consecutive games dating to May 2, 2021, marking the sixth-longest streak since 1969, trailing Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. (2,632 consecutive games); Steve Garvey (1,207 G); Miguel Tejada (1,152 G); Pete Rose (745 G); and Dale Murphy (740 G).

Other noteworthy AL performances last week included All-Star catcher Cal Raleigh (.304, 4 HR, 6 RBI, 1 2B, 3 BB, 6 R, .870 SLG), who has set the Mariners’ single-season home run record, surpassing Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr.’s mark of 56 home runs in 1997 and 1998, and has also set the single-season record for most home runs by a switch-hitter, surpassing Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle’s 1961 record of 54, and his teammate, starting pitcher Logan Gilbert (2-0, 2.31 ERA, 2 GS, 11.2 IP, 10 H, 2 BB, 9 SO); All-Star shortstop Jeremy Peña (.474, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 2 2B, 2 BB, 8 R, .895 SLG) of the Houston Astros; rookie catcher/designated hitter Carter Jensen (.391, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 4 2B, 2 BB, 6 R, .826 SLG) of the Kansas City Royals; All-Star starting pitcher Max Fried (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 GS, 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 13 SO) of the New York Yankees; first baseman Spencer Torkelson (.375, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 1 2B, 1 BB, 4 R) of the Detroit Tigers; starting pitcher Kyle Bradish (1-0, 1.64 ERA, 2 GS, 11.0 IP, 6 H, 6 BB, 18 SO) of the Baltimore Orioles; and All-Star left fielder Steven Kwan (.323, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 2 2B, 2 BB, 4 R, 2 SB) of the Cleveland Guardians.

Other noteworthy NL performances last week included Olson’s teammates, rookie catcher Drake Baldwin (.393, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 2 2B, 1 3B, 2 BB, 7 R, .857 SLG), All-Star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. (.423, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 9 BB, 8 R, 2 SB, .571 OBP) and starting pitcher Spencer Strider (2-0, .075 ERA, 2 GS, 12.0 IP, 10 H, 5 BB, 12 SO); starting pitcher Emmet Sheehan (0.71 ERA, 2 G, 1 GS, 12.2 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 17 SO) and designated hitter/starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani (.333, 4 HR, 6 RBI, 3 2B, 4 BB, 6 R, 1 SB, .889 SLG, 0.00 ERA, 5.0 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 5 SO) of the Los Angeles Dodgers; first baseman Spencer Steer (.353, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 1 BB, 4 R, 1.059 SLG) and starting pitcher Hunter Greene (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 GS, 9.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 9 SO) of the Cincinnati Reds; starting pitcher Zac Gallen (2-0, 2.77 ERA, 2 GS, 13.0 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, 15 SO), All-Star right fielder Corbin Carroll (.360, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 2 2B, 1 3B, 2 BB, 5 R) and shortstop Geraldo Perdomo (.391, 2 RBI, 4 2B, 1 3B, 4 BB, 4 R, .500 OBP) of the Arizona Diamondbacks; All-Star first baseman Pete Alonso (.476, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 1 2B, 3 BB, 6 R, .952 SLG, .538 OBP), All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor (.391, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 1 2B, 9 R, 1 SB, .500 OBP) and right fielder Juan Soto (.391, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 2 2B, 4 BB, 3 R, 3 SB) of the New York Mets; first baseman Alec Burleson (.476, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB of the St. Louis Cardinals; and starting pitcher Jameson Taillon (1-1, 0.69 ERA, 2 GS, 13.0 IP, 7 H, 2 BB, 7 SO) of the Chicago Cubs.

Press Release Courtesy of Major League Baseball 

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