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.
Daz Cameron talks to MLBbro.com reporter Malik Wright about growing up the son of a big leaguer, working out the offseason in Atlanta and his time with Oakland A’s.
Malik Wright is live at the ballpark in Arlington, Texas as the visiting Yankees prepare for the playoffs. He speaks with Yankees hitting coach James Rowson about:
•What makes Aaron Judge a great hitter
•Rowson’s relationship with Jazz Chisholm Jr. from their time with the Miami Marlins
•Stanton the NY Yankees World Series X factor
•He explains the hitting game his players do in BP
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.
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