MLB Team of the Week: Bryce Harper, Kris Bryant and Corey Kluber Star
We're chugging toward the midpoint of May, and with another week of baseball action in the books, it's time for the latest installment of Bleacher Report's MLB Team of the Week.
In case you're just joining us: These are the guys (eight position players plus a designated hitter and starting pitcher) who've busted box scores over the past seven days. Forget their overall stats; they're being judged solely on what they accomplished between May 8 and May 14.
(Seriously, we're strict about those dates, so before you complain in the comments, make sure you aren't remembering, say, a monster game that happened on May 7. Then feel free to complain.)
To qualify, a player needs at least two starts at the position in question or one start in the case of pitchers.
Finally, extra credit is awarded if gaudy stats led to a bump in the standings—because while individual performance is cool, it's even cooler when you're winning.
Catcher: Brayan Pena, Cincinnati Reds
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With Devin Mesoraco on the active roster but limited by an ailing hip, Brayan Pena has become the Cincinnati Reds' primary backstop.
This week, he was also a primary offensive force, going 9-for-17 and raising his average to .354 and his on-base percentage to .429.
The 33-year-old Pena—who owns a career .262 average and .299 OBP—is unlikely to sustain that production, to put it diplomatically. But the Reds will certainly take it while it lasts.
First Base: Edwin Encarnacion, Toronto Blue Jays
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Edwin Encarnacion belted four home runs this week, including three over his last three games, doubling his total for the season.
Overall, the slugging first baseman went 8-for-24 with eight RBI and raised his OPS from .631 to .761.
"I'm happy to be feeling better at the plate the last couple of weeks, the power is there and I know it's going to come," Encarnacion said after launching two big flies in a 10-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles on May 12, per Sportsnet's Shi Davidi. "I know when I start hitting and getting hot, we're going to keep winning a lot of games."
Second Base: Jason Kipnis, Cleveland Indians
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Jason Kipnis hit safely in every game this week. But he really shined during a three-game stretch May 9-12, when he rapped out nine hits in 14 at-bats, including three doubles and a triple.
Overall, the Cleveland Indians second baseman went 13-for-24 and raised his average more than 40 points.
The Tribe, meanwhile, went just 2-4 and slid deeper into the American League Central cellar.
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Third Base: Kris Bryant, Chicago Cubs
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You knew the power was going to come eventually for Kris Bryant. Eventually has arrived.
After failing to hit a home run in his first 20 big league games, Bryant smacked three this week. Pair that with eight RBI, and you've got the game-changing, middle-of-the-order production Cubs fans were dreaming of when Chicago (belatedly) called up its vaunted super-prospect.
"That's the swing that I want," Bryant said Tuesday after belting his first MLB triple in a 6-1 win over the New York Mets, per ESPN.com's Jesse Rogers. "I haven't been able to do that a lot up here. I was pretty pleased with that one."
Shortstop: Marcus Semien, Oakland A's
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First, let's get the bad news out of the way: Marcus Semien committed five more errors this week, bringing his season total to 11.
Quite simply, it's been ugly, as FanGraphs' Owen Watson explains:
"There's really no doubt that Semien has been one of the worst defensive shortstops in the league: we can see it on a lot of routine plays and we can see it in the data, even if we assume a lot of noise. ...
... There are two main issues with Semien defensively in 2015; he's showing poor range in the UZR data we've gotten back, and he's making a lot of mistakes on easy fielding plays (he's only completed 94% of plays classified as routine).
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So what's he doing on the Team of the Week? That's where his bat comes in.
Semien went 11-for-26 this week and raised his batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage by at least 25 points each.
He also clubbed three home runs, including two Sunday against Seattle Mariners uber-ace Felix Hernandez.
You've already forgotten about those errors, haven't you?
Left Field: Khris Davis, Milwaukee Brewers
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It's been a rough year for the Milwaukee Brewers, who fired their manager May 3 and are the not-so-proud owners of the game's worst winning percentage. So the Crew will take positives wherever they can find them.
This week, Khris Davis was an unmitigated positive.
Davis went 7-for-12 with a home run and six RBI as Milwaukee took two of three from the Cubs May 8-10, and he finished the week 9-for-20 with a beefy 1.422 OPS over that stretch.
"It seems like he flipped the switch and it's pretty good right now," new skipper Craig Counsell said of his scalding left fielder, per the Associated Press (via Fox Sports Wisconsin). "When Khris gets locked in, it's damaging."
Center Field: Anthony Gose, Detroit Tigers
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Anthony Gose has spent most of the season being compared, unfavorably, to Devon Travis.
The Detroit Tigers traded Travis to the Toronto Blue Jays for Gose this winter, and Travis opened 2015 by launching six home runs and posting a 1.018 OPS in April, no doubt leaving some in the Motor City with buyer's remorse.
This week, Gose responded, going 11-for-25 with three doubles, a triple and six runs scored.
Prior to that streak, Gose, who hits left-handed, was losing starts to the right-handed Rajai Davis. The two could continue to platoon, but Gose can force the issue—and shed the Devon Travis comparisons—with more stretches like this.
Right Field: Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals
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When Washington Nationals fans close their eyes and imagine the best-case scenario for Bryce Harper, the Platonic ideal of Bryce Harper, it must look a lot like what we saw from the Nats' young star this week.
Harper went 11-for-24 with four home runs and 11 RBI. And despite an 8-3 loss to the San Diego Padres on Thursday, Washington went 5-2 over that stretch, creeping closer to the slumping New York Mets in the National League East.
The one thing the 22-year-old former NL Rookie of the Year never lacks is confidence.
"I've done it before," Harper said in the midst of his recent hot streak, per James Wagner of the Washington Post. "I'm not saying that to be cocky at all, but I'm saying that I want to do that again."
Designated Hitter: Jimmy Paredes, Baltimore Orioles
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Entering the season, Jimmy Paredes was a 26-year-old journeyman with fewer than 500 big league at-bats for three teams spread over four seasons.
A month-and-a-half into the 2015 campaign, he's one of the hottest hitters on the planet.
The Baltimore Orioles DH padded his already impressive stats with a blistering week, going 11-for-26 with two doubles, a triple and a home run.
The O's went just 3-3 during that stretch and remain mired under .500. But count Paredes as a glistening bright spot for the defending division champs.
Pitcher: Corey Kluber, Cleveland Indians
10 of 10On Wednesday night in Cleveland, Corey Kluber lived up to the capital "K" on the back of his jersey.
The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning and wound up punching out an eye-popping 18 St. Louis Cardinals hitters in eight dominant frames.
With Kluber just three strikeouts shy of the all-time single-game record, third base coach Brad Mills—managing in place of ejected skipper Terry Francona—chose not to send his starter to the mound in the ninth. Kluber had thrown 113 pitches at the time, a season high.
"Millsy knows what he's doing," Francona said after the game, per MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. "You can't manage with your heart."
Hearts, heads, history and pitch counts aside, the Tribe's ace looked simply transcendent. Too bad the same can't be said for the still scuffling Indians.
All statistics current as of May 14 and courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.
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