Major League Baseball named its Players of the Week coming out of the All-Star break, and both winners made the most of abbreviated schedules — though one did considerably more with his at-bats than the other.
Red Sox right fielder Wilyer Abreu took the American League award after going 5-for-14 with four home runs and six RBIs across Boston’s four-game sweep of the first-place Rays at Fenway Park. The sweep ran Boston’s winning streak to 13 games — the franchise’s longest in nearly 80 years. All four of Abreu’s homers came in a two-game span, including a two-homer performance Saturday that helped fuel a Red Sox comeback.
The National League honor went to Braves catcher Drake Baldwin, whose week was something else entirely. Baldwin went 10-for-14 — a .714 batting average — with three home runs, eight RBIs, five runs scored, a stolen base, and a walk across three games against the Rangers. He posted a 1.357 slugging percentage, a .733 on-base percentage, and a 2.090 OPS. By raw OPS, that is not a typo.
According to MLB’s official release, Baldwin led all major-leaguers for the week in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging, OPS, hits, and total bases (19), while tying for first in RBIs and runs scored. He capped the week with a 5-for-5 game Sunday that included two home runs — the first five-hit game by a Brave since Whit Merrifield in August 2024 and the first multi-homer, five-hit performance by an Atlanta player since Ozzie Albies in June 2021. Baldwin is just the sixth catcher in Braves franchise history with a five-hit game, joining a list that includes Hall of Famer Ernie Lombardi.
The 25-year-old from Madison, Wisconsin, has not struck out in 34 consecutive plate appearances dating to July 8 — the longest active streak in the majors. For a catcher carrying the workload Baldwin does, that kind of contact rate over a full month is worth pausing on. He opened the second half Friday with a three-hit, five-RBI game against Texas, becoming the second Braves catcher this season with a five-RBI performance, joining Jonah Heim.
Baldwin, the 2025 NL Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year and a first-time All-Star starter this season, is now slashing .276/.362/.481 with 18 homers, 54 RBIs, and a 132 OPS+ on the year. This was his first career Player of the Week award, and the first for any Braves player this season.
Abreu’s case was built more on power than volume. The 27-year-old two-time Gold Glove winner benefited from playing one more game than most of the league coming out of the break, and he capitalized. His season line now sits at .264/.337/.458 with 15 homers and 49 RBIs, and his 3.9 WAR is already a career best. This was also Abreu’s first Player of the Week selection.
One line worth noting: Abreu’s .357 average and .438 OBP for the week are excellent, but Baldwin’s .714/.733/2.090 slash is the kind of number that makes you check the math twice. Both players earned the recognition. One of them had a week that belongs in a different conversation.
Sources
- MLB.com — Abreu, Baldwin named Players of the Week
- Yahoo Sports — Drake Baldwin announced as National League Player of the Week