Springer named American League Player of the Week
Toronto Blue Jays outfielder/DH George Springer has been named the American League Player of the Week. Photo: Toronto Blue Jays
July 7, 2025
Official Major League Baseball News Release
Outfielder/designated hitter George Springer of the Toronto Blue Jays has been selected the American League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet, while first baseman Michael Busch of the Chicago Cubs and starting pitcher Zack Wheeler of the Philadelphia Phillies have been named the National League Co-Players of the Week presented by Chevrolet.
The announcements were made on Monday on MLB Network.
Springer won his sixth career award after previously winning three times in 2021, including back-to-back weeks on August 2nd and 9th, and October 4th. Prior to his three awards with the Blue Jays, he won twice as a member of the Houston Astros, taking home honours on June 4, 2017 and May 13, 2019.
Busch earned his second career honour after previously winning on September 16th last season, and it is the third recognition for the Cubs this year, following awards for Kyle Tucker on April 7th and Seiya Suzuki on May 27th. Overall it is the 100th honour in Cubs’ franchise history, with 2025 marking the first time since 2021 (three awards) that Chicago has won multiple awards in a single season.
Wheeler earned his first career honour and is the first Phillie to win since Kyle Schwarber on September 9th last season. He is the 17th Phillies pitcher (23rd occasion) to win the award and the first since Michael Lorenzen also garnered co-honours on August 14, 2023 following his no-hitter.
George Springer, Toronto Blue Jays (@georgespringer)
-The 35-year-old hit .429 (12-for-28) with five homers, 13 RBIs, four walks, nine runs scored, a stolen base, a .964 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base percentage.
-The New Britain, Connecticut native led the Majors in RBIs, tied for the Major League lead in total bases (27) and runs scored; ranked second in homers; tied for second in hits; ranked third in slugging and OPS (1.464); tied for fourth in batting average; and tied for fifth in on-base percentage.
-The four-time All-Star tallied two multi-homer games, going deep twice on Tuesday and Thursday against the Yankees. He recorded a career-high seven RBIs on Tuesday as he hit a solo homer in the fourth inning, his ninth career grand slam in the seventh inning and a two-run single in the eighth inning. He added another four RBIs on Thursday, lifting a pair of two-run homers in the third and eighth innings.
-The 2017 World Series Champion and Willie Mays World Series MVP finished the series with four homers and 11 RBIs, becoming the third Blue Jay with at least four homers and 10 RBIs in a four-game series, joining Edwin Encarnación (5 HR/10 RBIs) in September 2010 against Minnesota and Carlos Delgado (5 HR/10 RBIs) in August 1999 against Texas.
-The two-time Silver Slugger racked up five consecutive multi-hit games from Tuesday-Saturday, marking the third-longest streak of his career with multiple hits, trailing a pair of six-game stretches from September 28-October 4, 2015, and May 29-June 4, 2017. It was the longest streak by a Blue Jay since Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Montreal, Que.) also tallied five straight muti-hit games from April 5-9, 2023.
Michael Busch, Chicago Cubs (@lil_busch)
-The 27-year-old hit .565 (13-for-23) with four homers, seven RBIs, two doubles, two walks, seven runs scored, a 1.174 slugging percentage and a .615 on-base percentage.
-The Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota native led the Majors in batting average, hits, on-base percentage, slugging and OPS (1.789); tied for the Major League lead in total bases (27); tied for second in extra-base hits; ranked third in homers; and tied for fifth in runs scored.
-The 31st overall pick in the 2019 Draft by the Dodgers hammered three home runs as he went 4-for-4 with five RBIs on Friday against the Cardinals. His three home runs helped the Cubs rack up a franchise-record eight homers in the game and along with Pete Crow-Armstrong’s four-hit, two-homer night, the pair became the second Cubs’ duo with at least four hits and multiple home runs in a game, joining Hall of Famers Ron Santo and Billy Williams on August 26, 1972. They were the first duo across the Majors to accomplish the feat since Yoenis Céspedes and Lucas Duda for the Mets on April 11, 2017.
-The University of North Carolina product hit back-to-back homers with Carson Kelly in the second inning and Dansby Swanson in the seventh inning as Chicago went back-to-back three times in the contest. It marked the fifth time in Major League history that a club went back-to-back three separate times in a game, joining the Los Angeles Dodgers on August 22, 2016; the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 14, 2014; the Boston Red Sox on June 17, 1977; and the Cincinnati Reds on August 18, 1956.
-Busch had multiple hits in four of his six contests last week, racking up three hits on Tuesday against Cleveland; four hits on Friday against St. Louis; three hits on Saturday against St. Louis; and two hits on Sunday against St. Louis. His nine hits were the most in a three-game series by a Cubs player since Kris Bryant also had nine hits in a three-game set against Arizona in August 2017. Additionally, he became just the third Cub with at least nine hits and at least six RBIs in a three-game series, joining Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg (9 H/8 RBIs) in June 1984 against St. Louis; and Ripper Collins (9 H/6 RBIs) in June 1937 against Philadelphia.
Zack Wheeler, Philadelphia Phillies (@wheelerpro45)
-The 35-year-old went 2-0 with a 0.53 ERA (1 ER/17.0 IP) across two starts, permitting seven hits, no walks and a homer with 22 strikeouts, a 0.41 WHIP, a .123 opponents’ batting average and 11.65 strikeouts per 9.0 innings.
-The Smyrna, Georgia native led the Majors in innings pitched and strikeouts; ranked second in WHIP; ranked fourth in opponents’ batting average; ranked 10th in ERA; and was one of two pitchers with a complete game, joining San Francisco’s Robbie Ray.
-The three-time All-Star, who was named to the 2025 All-Star Game in his home state on Sunday, threw a complete game against Cincinnati, retiring 27 of the 28 batters he faced. He allowed just one baserunner, giving up a homer to former teammate Austin Hays, as he struck out 12 batters in his first complete game since August 8, 2021 against the Mets. Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com, Wheeler became the first Phillies pitcher in at least the last 125 seasons with 12+ strikeouts, no walks and no more than one hit allowed in a game, and at 35 years and 37 days old, the only Major League pitchers to accomplish the feat at an older age in that same span were Hall of Famer Randy Johnson and R.A. Dickey. It was Wheeler’s fewest hits allowed in a complete game and the first complete game of one-or-zero hits by a Phillies starter since Michael Lorenzen threw a no-hitter on August 9, 2023. It was just the 13th time in Phillies’ history that a starter allowed one-or-zero baserunners and the first time since Hall of Famer Roy Halladay’s perfect game on May 29, 2010.
-The 2023 Rawlings Gold Glover fired eight scoreless frames on Monday against San Diego, allowing six hits with 10 strikeouts, and he now has nine career scoreless starts of at least eight innings. He is the first Phillies starter to fan at least 10 batters in back-to-back starts of at least eight innings since Cliff Lee in April 2014, and just the second Phillies starter ever with consecutive starts of at least 8.0 innings, 10 strikeouts and no walks, joining Curt Schilling (9/15-9/21/1996).
-The sixth overall selection in the 2009 Draft by San Francisco has dealt at least five innings in each start this season and in 35 consecutive starts since June 22nd of last year, marking the longest streak by a Phillies starter since Aaron Nola also threw at least five innings in 35 consecutive starts from June 6, 2017-June 12, 2018. Prior to Nola, Cole Hamels achieved the feat in 45 consecutive starts from May 6, 2014-July 5, 2015.
Other noteworthy AL performances for the week included shortstop Trevor Story (.480, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 3 2B, 1 BB, 7 R, 1 SB, .960 SLG, .500 OBP) and outfielder Wilyer Abreu (.313, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 2 BB, 6 R, 1 SB, .875 SLG) of the Boston Red Sox; left fielder Randy Arozarena (.346, 6 HR, 9 RBI, 6 R, 1.038 SLG) and starting pitcher George Kirby (2-0, 0.73 ERA, 2 GS, 12.1 IP, 7 H, 0 BB, 14 SO) of the Seattle Mariners; second baseman Jose Altuve (.417, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 2 2B, 1 3B, 4 BB, 9 R, .958 SLG) and first baseman Christian Walker (.429, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 4 R) of the Houston Astros; 2025 All-Star Game starting outfielder Aaron Judge (.409, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 2 2B, 9 BB, 7 R, .909 SLG, .576 OBP) and left fielder Jasson Domínguez (.423, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 1 2B, 1 BB, 5 R, 2 SB, .769 SLG) of the New York Yankees; center fielder Jo Adell (.304, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 2 2B, 4 BB, 2 R) of the Los Angeles Angels; Springer’s teammate, closer Jeff Hoffman (0.00 ERA, 4 G, 4 SV, 4.0 IP, 3 H, 0 BB, 3 SO); starting pitcher Trevor Rogers (1-0, 1.50 ERA, 2 GS, 12.0 IP, 7 H, 5 BB, 11 SO) of the Baltimore Orioles; and 2025 All-Star pitcher Tarik Skubal (0.00 ERA, 1 GS, 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 BB, 10 SO) of the Detroit Tigers.
Other noteworthy NL performances last week included shortstop Willy Adames (.423, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 2 2B, 4 BB, 6 R, .500 OBP) and 2025 All-Star pitcher Robbie Ray (1-0, 2.00 ERA, 1 GS, 1 CG, 9.0 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 7 SO) of the San Francisco Giants; Busch’s teammates, 2025 All-Star pitcher Matthew Boyd (2-0, 1.50 ERA, 2 GS, 12.0 IP, 8 H, 2 BB, 14 SO) and 2025 All-Star Game starting outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (.400, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 1 3B, 2 BB, 5 R, 2 SB); outfielder Tyler Freeman (.455, 2 RBI, 4 2B, 1 BB, 2 R, 3 SB) of the Colorado Rockies; and starting pitcher Edward Cabrera (1-1, 1.29 ERA, 2 GS, 14.0 IP, 7 H, 1 BB, 11 SO) of the Miami Marlins.