Josh Naylor named AL Player of the Week
Cleveland Guardians slugger Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) has been named American League Player of the Week. Photo: Major League Baseball/Twitter
June 24, 2024
By Kevin Glew
Canadian Baseball Network
For the first time in his career, Canadian Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) has been named the American League Player of the Week.
Major League Baseball made the announcement on Monday.
For the week spanning from June 17 to June 23, the Cleveland Guardians slugger went 10-for-25 (.400 batting average) with three home runs, three doubles and seven runs in six games. The Ontario Blue Jays and Junior National Team alum also had an .880 slugging percentage, a .423 on-base percentage and topped the AL in total bases (22) and tied for the lead in extra-base hits (6).
The 27-year-old Canuck belted two home runs for the Guardians on Wednesday. It was his fourth career multi-home run game in the majors.
Naylor also clubbed his 20th home run of the season on Sunday against the Toronto Blue Jays. That tied his career-high, which he set in 2022. His 20 home runs lead the Guardians while his 58 RBIs rank second on the team behind Jose Ramirez.
Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Shohei Ohtani was named National League Player of the Week after he batted .458 with four home runs and 11 RBIs in six games.
Toro to IL
On Saturday, the Oakland A’s placed Canadian infielder Abraham Toro on the injured list with a strained right hamstring.
Martin Gallegos, of MLB.com, reported that it is a Grade 1 strain and that Toro is expected to be sidelined until after the All-Star break, which extends through July 18.
In 73 contests with the A’s this season, the 27-year-old Toro (Longueuil, Que.) was hitting a team-leading .260 with six home runs, 24 RBIs and a .689 OPS. He is currently second on the A’s with 72 hits.
Toro finished the month of May with 39 hits. That was the most in the major leagues. It’s also more than any A’s player has had in May since 1989 when Carney Lansford had 39 hits. In total, Toro batted .315 with three home runs and 10 RBIs in 28 games in May.
Now in his sixth MLB season, the versatile ABC alum has been used at first base, second base, third base and in the outfield by the A’s.