Michael Harris is playing his best baseball of the year when his Braves need him most. The 2022 National League Rookie of The Year homered five times in his last seven games and is hitting .486 over that span to earn himself the top spot on our final #HighFive list of the season.
1. “Money” Michael Harris
With Ronald Acuna, Austin Riley and Ozzie Albies among others shelved with injuries while Atlanta chases the final National League Wild Card spot, Harris has turned his game up another level.
He has multiple hits in six of his last seven games including three three-hit contests, one coming last Thursday in a two-homer game against the Reds to help eliminate them from contention.
On Tuesday, Harris showed the world why he is one of the top five-tool players in the Majors.
He finished a triple shy of the cycle, hit his eighth home run in the month of September, matching his total from the rest of the season and made a diving catch earlier that game to preserve a 4-0 lead.
The Braves will face the Royals over the weekend before their Monday double header against the Mets that could decide the final playoff spot.
2. Aaron Judge
Aaron Judge, who sat atop the #HighFive for most of 2024 takes the second spot on our Week 25 list after hitting a home run in four consecutive games.
Judge’s 2024 was one of the best offensive seasons in Major League history.
In addition to leading baseball in most all hitting categories, his 10.6 Offensive WAR is top 20 in the history of baseball and is the highest mark since Judge’s 10.3 in 2022. Before that, you have to go to Barry Bonds 2001 MVP year where he finished with a 12.4 WAR, the highest ever recorded.
In his last seven games Judge slashed .364/.533/.955 with four homers, eight RBI, eight walks and a stolen base.
3. Byron Buxton
“As long as we win that is all that matters,” Byron Buxton told reporters after a big win Wednesday night to put his Twins two games out of the last Wild Card spot.
Buxton, who has hits in five consecutive games hit a 450-ft game-tying blast to tie Wednesday’s contest against the Marlins.
This was the first season Buxton played 100 games in since playing 140 in 2017. Although he still missed more time than he wanted to, this was a step in the right direction.
4. Giancarlo Stanton
Giancarlo Stanton is finishing his regular season strong as he looks to play a major factor this postseason.
He is hitting .333 with a homer and four RBI over his last five games as the Yankees look to clinch the top seed in the American League.
Wednesday night marked the 13th time this season Stanton and Judge have homered in the same game which only trails the duo of Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle who did it 14 times in 1961.
5. Lawrence Butler “Law Dawg”
Lawrence Butler is the final member of the Oakland Athletics to make earn a spot on our #HighFive list.
“We hear them, we care about them and this means a lot to them,” Butler told reporters when discussing the team’s decision to wear their kelly green jerseys with “Oakland” across their every game during the final homestand at the Coliseum.
Butler surged this season after spending a few weeks in Triple A and I believe he will be on the All-Star team next year in his hometown of Atlanta.
He hit .364 with a stolen base during the last series against the Rangers and on the season has hit 22 home runs, 20 of them coming since June 30th.
Kumar Rocker’s Major League debut was worth the wait as his slider is already looking like one of the most dangerous pitches in baseball. He takes the top spot on Week 24 of our #HighFive list after a solid first outing against the Mariners.
Kumar Rocker
Rocker struck out seven and gave up just one run on three hits in his Major League debut last Thursday in Seattle.
“It was the adrenaline rush you always need,” Rocker told me when describing his debut.
“It was time to compete at the highest level and I just wanted to make the most of it.”
He got seventeen swings and misses, 13 by way of his reaper type slider which is Rocker’s best pitch. At times, it can move like a curveball.
Since he got to Vanderbilt, Rocker has shown he can be one of the most dominant pitchers in the world. His college resume includes a College World Series Super Regionals no-hitter over Duke, a 19-strikeout game and a CWS Most Outstanding award all as a freshman.
Now the goal for Rocker is to end the season strong and help prepare to step into a full-time role in the Major League rotation in 2024.
Aaron Judge
Aaron Judge takes the two spot on our #HighFive list after snapping his career-long homerless streak and helping his Yankees become the first team in the American League to clinch a playoff spot with a 2-for-4 four RBI performance Wednesday night.
Judge went 16 games without hitting a bomb before launching a go-ahead grand slam last Friday to get the win against the rival Boston Red Sox.
Even without consistently hitting the ball out of the ballpark, he still has found ways to be effective on offense.
In 15 games this month Judge has reached safely in all but one.
Over his last seven games, he is hitting .333 with 10 RBI, a stolen base, six walks and two home runs.
C.J. Abrams
C.J. Abrams clinched his first 20/20 season of his career, putting a bow on one of the best seasons for any MLBbro this year.
In year three we saw signs of why C.J. Abrams was one of the most highly touted prospects when he came to Washington in the Juan Soto deal.
He got close to the mark last year after stealing 47 bases and hitting 18 home runs in 2023, but this time around Abrams became the second MLBbro in the 20/20 club this season, the other being New York Yankee third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr.
In his last seven games, the 2024 National League All-Star shortstop has a .320 average, a .600 slugging percentage and he hit two solo home runs.
“Late Night” LaMonte Wade
LaMonte Wade is one of the most consistent players in the Majors when it comes to getting on base.
He has hits in seven of his last eight games and has raised his play during this final month of the year after struggling through the entire summer.
Wade has a .348 average and .400 on base percentage in his last seven games.
However, his surge may be too little too late as his Giants are slowly fading away in the race for one of the final National League Wild Card spots.
Lawrence Butler
Lawrence Butler gets the final spot on this week’s #HighFive list after his career-long 22-game hitting streak.
That streak tied Butler for the second longest one in the Majors this season, trailing only Bryan Reynolds who had hits in 25 straight games.
The hitless games would not last long, as he picked up hits in his next two games including his first career homer in Wrigley Field.
Butler is slashing .328/.379/.508 with three steals, four RBI and two home runs in September.
Lawrence Butler extended his career-long hitting streak to 20 games during Thursday’s contest against Houston, earning him the top spot on Week 23 of our #HighFive list; an honor he has received for two weeks in a row.
1. Lawrence Butler “Law Dawg”
Despite being out of the lineup a few days for rest this week, Butler was still able to register seven hits over a five-game span, including last Friday night, when he had three hits and reached safely four times.
The longest hitting streak in MLB this season is owned by Bryan Reynolds who reached 25 games. Butler would be in line to pass that by Tuesday of next week.
Butler is currently slashing .368/.400/.553 with four doubles in two steals through the first two weeks of September.
2. Jack Flaherty “Black Jack”
Jack Flaherty has been the Dodgers best pitcher since joining their rotation at the trade deadline.
He pitched into the eighth inning in 100-plus degree weather, striking out six and allowing no runs on just four hits against the American League Central-leading Guardians.
In seven starts with Los Angeles, Flaherty is 5-1 with a 2.61 ERA in 41.1 innings.
He ranks fourth in the Majors with a 2.68 ERA and has given up one or less runs in three of his last four starts.
Flaherty will take the mound on Saturday in what will be another hot day on the mound in Atlanta against the Braves.
3. Cedric “CM Storm” Mullins
Cedric Mullins flipped the switch in September and is now playing his best baseball since his 30/30 season in 2021.
He had his first two-homer game of the season Tuesday night in Boston and has a .333 average with three homers, four RBI and two steals over his last seven games.
Mullins showed out on the defensive side of the ball this week as well with a diving catch Monday night on a ball that had a 10% catch percentage.
This weekend his Orioles will take on a Tigers team that is doing everything in their power to sneak into a wild card spot.
4. James Wood
James Woods’ position in the fourth slot in Week 23 of our #HighFive list was fueled by a five-game hitting streak and 10 game on-base streak.
Wood continues to have a strong season and appears to be a main building block for one of the great young teams in the Majors alongside Dylan Crews and C.J. Abrams.
Over the last seven games Wood has a .310 average which raised his season average to .277 and OPS to .783. He has also driven in 34 runs and stole 12 bases.
5. Marcus Semien
Marcus Semien is trying to make one last push to get his Rangers back to the playoffs for a chance to become the first repeat champions since the Yankees in 1998-2000.
For the most part it has been a down season for Semien who finished third in American League MVP voting in 2023, but over the last seven games he has shown more life at the plate.
He had two home runs this week, including one during a World Series rematch against the Diamondbacks and the other at the expense of his mentor Ron Washington and the LA Angels.
Lawrence Butler was not only named the American League Player of the Week, thanks to his second three home run game of the year and a .500 average, he also set an A’s franchise record with nine straight games with an extra base hit. The “Law Dawg” is becoming a superstar right before our eyes as he takes the top spot on Week 22 of our #HighFive list.
1. Lawrence Butler “Law Dawg”
Things seemed to click for Lawrence Butler right before the All-Star Break when he hit his first career three homer game on the final Sunday against the Phillies.
Ever since, Butler has been playing at a superstar level and this week he earned his second American League Player of the Month award this season, becoming one of six Athletics ever to win the award twice in a season.
Last Thursday Butler became the third player age 24 or younger with multiple three home run games in a season, joining Ralph Kiner and Mookie Betts.
In total, Butler had six home runs, drove in 10 runs, had three doubles, stole two bases and slashed .500/.517/1.767 to clinch the award.
His Athletics continue their final month as a franchise this weekend when they welcome the Tigers to Oakland for the final time.
2. Josh Naylor
After a lackluster July and August, Josh Naylor stepped his game up this week with multiple hits in four of six games including two three-hit games to take the two spot on our #HighFive List.
After homering on Labor Day for the 29th time this season, he is only one blast away from joining the 100 RBI-30 home run club for the first time in his career. This week Naylor along with fellow All-Star Jose Ramirez became the first pair of Major League teammates to each reach 100 RBI.
In his last seven games he is slashing .429/.467/.679 with eight RBI, a homer and a stolen base.
3. Jazz Chisholm Jr.
Through 26 games as a Yankee, Jazz Chisholm is showing to be one of their better trade deadline additions for New York in recent memory.
Over that stretch he has a .333 average, 1.007 OPS, scored 22 runs, stole 11 bases and nine home runs, almost more than the 13 he had in 101 games with the Marlins this year.
“He is a better player than I knew,” said Yankee manager Aaron Boone.
“Defensively his instincts have been good as well as on the base paths. He is a really good player that may just be scratching the surface.”
Chisholm had four straight games this week with multiple hits and over his last seven games he has a .462 average with a .500 OBP and six steals.
4. Mookie Betts
Monday August 19, 2024: (Photo: Kevin Reece MLBbro.com)
Mookie Betts made the Angels pay for the ultimate disrespect Tuesday with a three-run bomb in the 10th to put the game on ice.
It becomes pick your poison when facing the top three MVP hitters in the Dodger lineup and Tuesday, Ron Washington decided Ohtani was not going to be the one not to beat them.
With a runner on second they intentionally walked Ohtani to go at Betts. The rest, like they say, is history.
“They walked Sho for me and I was like alright if that is what you want,” Betts told reporters postgame.
Betts has hits in 10 of his last 11 games and has driven in 10 runs in his last seven games and posting a .360 average.
5. Jack Flaherty “Blackjack”
Jack Flaherty made a statement by shutting down the Diamondbacks in his first start as a Dodger against the National League West.
He got the win after throwing 5.2 innings and gave up only one run on five hits and seven strikeouts.
Since joining the Dodgers, the same team he grew up rooting for in his hometown of Los Angeles, Flaherty is 4-1 with a 3.18 ERA and 41strikouts in 34 innings.
His next start will be Sunday against one of Blackjack’s familiar foes, Josh Naylor and the Cleveland Guardians.
Aaron Judge put himself in rare company this week, joining Babe Ruth, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and Alex Rodriguez as the players in Major League history to have three 50 home runs seasons.
Judge is a standout among this group being one of the only to do so without having any steroid allegations. For that, he earns the top spot on Week 21 of our #HighFive list.
1. Aaron Judge
This week was full of accomplishments for Judge as not only did he become the first MLBbro to hit 50 home runs in three different seasons, but he also reached 1,000 base hits. Judge has more homers today than he did at this same point of the season back in 2022 when he finished with an American League record 62 home runs in a season.
Sunday, he hit bro bombs 50 and 51, but the highlight of his week came on Monday in D.C. when he robbed a homer in center field and got the ball back to the infield in time to double off a speedy C.J. Abrams.
Judge was awarded the American League Player of the Week award for his efforts. He has a slashline of .318/.500/.909 with four homers, six RBI, seven walks and a stolen base over his last seven games.
2. Lawrence Butler “LawBoyz”
Lawrence Butler is on a heater, similar to the one he went on in July that saw him become one of the better hitters in baseball after making a slight adjustment to his stance.
He led off Wednesday’s game with a bro bomb and is currently riding a seven-game hitting streak. Butler has three home runs in his last five games, giving him 16 on the season. Over the last seven games, Butler has a .303 average with a 1.095 OPS, seven RBI and two stolen bases.
His A’s will travel to Arlington, Texas this weekend for the final time representing Oakland to take on the Rangers in a three-game series.
3. Jazz Chisholm Jr. “Bahamian Blur”
Jazz Chisholm returned to the Yankees lineup and immediately hopped on the bandwagon being carried by Aaron Judge; but he is doing his part to keep the Yankees going forward in their push for the American League East title.
Chisholm was the biggest name to move at the deadline and since arriving in New York, he has been a perfect fit to their puzzle. After being sent to the Injured List to deal with an elbow injury, he has come back without missing a beat at the plate. He is hitting .273 with two home runs and a .940 OPS over the last seven days. His 22 home runs and career-high 28 steals give Chisholm Jr. the first 20/20 season of his career.
It may be a longshot to reach the 30/30 mark, but the 2023 MLB The Show cover boy could use the short porch in Yankee Stadium to make it become a reality.
4. Will Benson
Will Benson takes the fourth spot on our #HighFive list after hitting a go-ahead three-run bomb in the bottom of the seventh against the Athletics. For Benson, it was his first home run in a month and the 13th of his season.
He went through a tough stretch for most of August that saw him only going 2-for-20 until August 21st, but he has improved since then, hitting .333 over the last seven days.
5. Bo Naylor
Bo Naylor is becoming one of the better defensive catchers in the Majors, but he showed out with his bat this week to help the Guardians salvage a game in what was a crucial series for the American League Central pennant. His 11th home run of the year ignited a late inning comeback for Cleveland, who is currently holding onto their A.L. Central lead by a thread.
“It has been a long stretch from the beginning of the season until now and there is still a long way to go,” said Naylor. “We are not stopping or letting any adversity get to our head. Just keep competing and hope we end up on the right side of things.”
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