Rays outfielder Austin Meadows along with Ronald Acuna Jr.of the Braves (also an outfielder) take home AL/NL Player of the Week honors.
ST. PETERSBURG – It won’t surprise anyone that the Rays 23-year old is tearing the cover off the baseball through the first few weeks of the season. It’s what they had in mind when they got him from the Pittsburgh Pirates last season in the trade that sent Chris Archer north and brought down Meadows along with P’s Tyler Glasnow and Shane Baz. Did they expect him to hit six home runs through the first 15 games of the season? Maybe not. But the feat has helped the Rays start the year a franchise-best 12-4 and added some hardware to Meadow’s mantle. His six home runs through the first 15 games of the season were tied with Carlos Peña (2009) for the most in franchise history.
Over the last week, he’s been spectacular.
Straight fire
In the last six games, Meadows has hit .545 (12-for-22) with six runs scored, two doubles, four home runs, 12 RBI, a stolen base, a .630 on-base percentage and a 1.182 slugging percentage over six games. For those keeping score at home – that’s real good. From Tuesday through Thursday, compiled three consecutive games with at least three hits while also homering in each, including a two-homer game on Thursday at Toronto.
The six home runs Meadow’s has already hit match his total from all of 2018 between Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay in 59 games he appeared in.
Snell gets considered
Also getting consideration for the award was reigning Cy Young winner, Blake Snell. The Rays lefty went 1-0 with a 0.75 ERA in 12 innings with 20 K’s and just one walk.
