KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Major League Baseball announced today that Vinnie Pasquantino has been named the American League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet for the period of June 2-8. This is Pasquantino’s second career weekly honor, and first since Aug. 8-14, 2022. He is the Royals first AL Player of the Week winner this season, and first since Bobby Witt Jr. won twice last year, from May 20-26 and July 15-21.
Vinnie tied for the Major League lead last week in batting average (.500) and hits (13) with Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson. He also tied four others for the most go-ahead RBI (3) in the AL, while ranking 2nd in total bases (20), 3rd in on-base percentage (.536) and OPS (1.305), tied for 4th in RBI (7) and 5th in slugging percentage (.769).
Pasquantino hit safely in all 6 games last week, including 4 multi-hit efforts. He drove in at least 1 run in 5 consecutive games from Tuesday-Saturday, including 2 RBI in back-to-back games in St. Louis on Tuesday and Game 1 of Thursday’s doubleheader. He homered in consecutive games Friday and Saturday at Rate Field in Chicago, including back-to-back home runs with Maikel Garcia on Friday night that flipped a 0-1 deficit into a 2-1 lead. Entering play this week, he carries both a 9-game hitting streak and a career-long 24-game on-base streak that dates back to May 12. Only Cleveland’s José Ramírez’s active 34-game on-base streak is longer.
He also played error-free defense, converting 40 total chances in 5 games at first base, including this web gem in which he robbed former-Royal Andrew Benintendi of a base hit with a dive to his right, before spinning and firing a strike to Seth Lugo covering first base.