MLB Team of the Week: Josh Harrison, Brandon Crawford and Shelby Miller Star
We've streaked through another week of baseball action, which means it's time for another installment of Bleacher Report's MLB Team of the Week.
You know the deal: 10 players—one per position, including designated hitter—who stuffed the stat sheet over the last seven days.
To qualify, a player needs at least two starts at the position in question between May 15 and May 21, or one start in the case of pitchers.
Finally, extra credit is awarded if individual performance translated to ticks in the win column. Because, in the end, that's what it's all about.
Catcher: Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants
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As Buster Posey goes, so go the San Francisco Giants. This week, it all went well.
Posey went 9-for-26 with two home runs and six RBI, and the Giants ripped off six consecutive victories, including a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Oh, and Posey caught two of the three shutout wins in that series.
He wasn't writing about Posey per se, but SB Nation's Grant Brisbee perfectly summed up the Giants' remarkable run:
"The record for consecutive shutouts against the Dodgers since 1958 is four, last done in 2012. ...
Three straight shutouts and a sweep. The Dodgers came into San Francisco and left without a run. As long as there isn't a natural disaster responsible for that sentence, it's quite possibly one of the happiest baseball sentences possible.
"
With the winning streak, the Giants are now just 1.5 games back of the Dodgers in the National League West. If Posey keeps swinging it, expect the defending champs to keep rolling.
Honorable Mention
Russell Martin (TOR): Russell Martin legged out a triple on May 16 against the Houston Astros, which almost warrants inclusion by itself. But the Blue Jays backstop was solid overall, going 8-for-24 with three extra-base hits and four RBI.
First Base: Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies
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With every good week he has, Ryan Howard increases his potential trade value, assuming the rebuilding Phils dangle him at the deadline.
This was a good week. Howard went 10-for-27 with three doubles, two home runs and five RBI, and the Phillies went 5-2, though they're still mired in fourth place in the NL East.
How does Howard, who has battled injuries and plummeting production over the past three seasons, explain his recent success?
"I'm not putting a whole lot of thought into it, I'm just playing," Howard said, per Ryan Lawrence of Philly.com. "Just trying to keep it simple and play, that's it."
Honorable Mention
Brandon Belt (SF): Brandon Belt went 9-for-20 with three home runs and seven RBI, raising his overall batting average to .305.
Second Base: Jason Kipnis, Cleveland Indians
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For the second consecutive week, Jason Kipnis is our pick at the keystone sack.
Kipnis led all second basemen with 11 hits—including two doubles, a triple and a home run—and raised his average to a robust .327.
And while the Tribe remains stuck in last place in the American League Central, they did put together a 5-2 record and won consecutive games for just the second time this season.
Honorable Mention
Chase Utley (PHI): Like Howard, veteran Chase Utley bolstered his possible trade value by going 9-for-20 with four doubles and a triple.
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Third Base: Josh Harrison, Pittsburgh Pirates
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Coming into the week, Josh Harrison—one of 2014's surprise breakout stars—was hitting .200 and had "regression" written all over him.
Not so fast. Over the last seven days, Harrison has banged out 13 hits, including four doubles and a home run, raising his average more than 50 points.
It's too soon to tell if this surge will continue, but it sure must feel good.
"It's not a matter of, 'I need to go prove this to them,'" Harrison said, per Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "I got what I got because of the way I play. Sometimes, when you go through struggles, the best thing is just to take a step back and a deep breath as opposed to trying to get three hits in one at-bat."
Honorable Mention
Yasmany Tomas (ARI): Cuban import Yasmany Tomas had easily his best week since a mid-April call-up, going 13-for-27 with three doubles and a home run.
Shortstop: Brandon Crawford, San Francisco Giants
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Brandon Crawford's glove has always spoken for itself, but this week his bat did some talking.
The slick-fielding San Francisco Giants shortstop went 12-for-22 and collected 10 RBI, including six in an 11-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on May 16.
Overall, Crawford leads NL shortstops with 27 RBI and is quietly creeping into the All-Star conversation.
Honorable Mention
Brad Miller (SEA): Yes, Brad Miller started the minimum (for our purposes) two games at shortstop for Seattle this week. But three of his seven hits left the yard.
Left Field: Yoenis Cespedes, Detroit Tigers
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Yoenis Cespedes went 12-for-25 with three doubles, a home run and four RBI for the Detroit Tigers, who went 4-3 to maintain their hold on second place in the hyper-competitive AL Central.
But perhaps most impressively, the free-swinging slugger drew three walks. That equals more than a third of Cespedes' season total, and it helped raise his on-base percentage 40 points.
Oh, and he stole three bases for good measure.
Honorable Mention
Colby Rasmus (HOU): Colby Rasmus went 7-for-20, with six of his hits going for extra bases, including four doubles and a pair of home runs.
Center Field: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
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The defending division champion Los Angeles Angels are still chasing the Houston Astros in the AL West, but one thing remains unchanged: Mike Trout rules.
The reigning AL MVP went 9-for-28 this week with a double and two home runs. That's solid but not great by Trout's lofty standards—which is sort of the point.
Honorable Mention
Andrew McCutchen (PIT): Andrew McCutchen didn't light the world on fire, but he cracked two home runs among six hits, offering hope that the Pittsburgh Pirates star is preparing to bust out of an uncharacteristic season-long funk.
Right Field: Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals
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Bryce Harper lands on his second consecutive Team of the Week after another monster seven-day stretch.
The 22-year-old masher went 9-for-16 with three home runs and seven RBI. He also got himself tossed out of a game for the second time this season, for apparently arguing balls and strikes with home plate umpire Marvin Hudson in a game against the New York Yankees on May 20.
"I don't think 40,000 people came to watch him ump tonight," Harper said after the game, per Scott Allen of the Washington Post. "Plain and simple. Especially when we're playing the Yankees. The Yankees are a good team, we're a good team and we're rolling."
Rolling indeed: The Nats have now won five straight and grabbed hold of first place in the NL East.
Honorable Mention
Ryan Braun (MIL): The Milwaukee Brewers limped through another losing week, but Ryan Braun did his part, going 7-for-23 with four home runs and 11 RBI.
Designated Hitter: Billy Butler, Oakland A's
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The Oakland A's remained in their season-long tailspin, going 1-6 on the week and sinking deeper into the AL West cellar.
Billy Butler offered a silver lining in the East Bay, going 8-for-27 with a double, a home run and four RBI.
That hot streak came on the heels of a slump that saw Butler go 3-for-40 between April 23 and May 4. Now if only the Athletics could find a way to cure their lingering malaise.
Honorable Mention
David Ortiz (BOS): David Ortiz began the week on a tear, going 6-for-12 with two home runs, and finished 7-for-18 with three extra-base hits and four RBI.
Pitcher: Shelby Miller, Atlanta Braves
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It was a bittersweet week for Shelby Miller, but a good one nonetheless.
The Atlanta Braves right-hander came tantalizingly close to throwing his first career no-hitter on May 17 against the Miami Marlins. Miller plowed through the first 8.2 innings with just a single walk allowed, before backup first baseman Justin Bour stroked a clean single up the middle.
Miller wound up with a complete game, a two-hit shutout—another notch in his stellar season, but not quite history.
"Obviously things didn't finish as we wanted to," Miller said, per Steve Wine of the Associated Press (h/t the Augusta Chronicle). "[But] in the end, I had a lot of fun."
Honorable Mention
Jacob deGrom (NYM): Jacob deGrom picked up two wins this week, allowing just one earned run in 14 innings with 17 strikeouts.
All statistics current as of May 21 and courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.
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