Rays' Isaac Paredes Named American League Player of the Week
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Isaac Paredes' magical week caught the attention of the nation on Monday when he was named the American League's Player of the Week by Major League Baseball.
Paredes, who was acquired in April from the Detroit Tigers for Austin Meadows, hit five home runs last week. He hit .579 (11-for-19) with six runs scored, two doubles, and nine RBI and a 1.474 slugging percentage over five games played.
He hit three home runs on Tuesday night against the New York Yankees — only the seventh time a Rays player had done that — and then homered again on his first at-bat on Wednesday. It was the first time a Rays player had homered in four straight at-bats. He hit another home run over the weekend against the Pirates, and became just the second Rays player to ever hit five homers in a three-game period. Brandon Lowe also did it last year from Sept. 29 to Oct. 2.
Paredes is the second Rays player to win the award this season. Outfielder Manuel Margot won the award on May. 8. He beat Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels, Dylan Cease of the Chicago White Sox, Alejandro Kirk of the Toronto Blue Jays, Yordan Alvarez and Christian Javier of the Houston Astros and Frankie Montas of the Oakland Athletics.
Freddie Freeman of the Los Angeles Dodgers won the National League award. He beat out Dansby Swanson of the Atlanta Braves, Corbin Burnes of the Milwaukee Brewers, Nico Hoerner of the Chicago Cubs, Brandon Nimmo of the New York Mets, Logan Webb of the San Francisco Giants; and Dodgers Trea Turner and Will Smith.
Previous American League winners
- June 18 — Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays
- June 11 — Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins
- June 4 — Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros
- May 28 — Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Guardians
- May 21 — Trevor Story, Boston Red Sox
- May 14 — Reid Detmers, Los Angeles Angels
- May 7 — Manuel Margot, Tampa Bay Rays
- April 30 — Taylor Ward, Los Angeles Angels
- April 23 — Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers, and Ty France, Seattle Mariners
- April 16 — Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Guardians
- April 9 — Alex Bregman, Houston Astros
Previous National League winners
- June 18 —Paul Goldschmidt, St. Louis Cardinals
- June 11 — Hunter Greene, Cincinnati Reds
- June 4 — Brendan Rogers, Colorado Rockies
- May 28 — Francisco Lindor, New York Mets
- May 21 — Sandy Alcantara, Miami Marlins
- May 14 — Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies
- May 7 — Rowdy Tellez, Milwaukee Brewers
- April 30 — Willy Adames, Milwaukee Brewers
- April 23 — Cody Bellinger, Los Angeles Dodgers
- April 16 — Seiya Suzuki, Chicago Cubs
- April 9 — Nolan Arenado, St. Louis Cardinals
