Washington Nationals News: Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg Named NL Co-Players Of The Week
By Ricky Keeler
For the second time this season, the Washington Nationals were able to sweep the Player of the Week awards in the National League. Today, All-Star right fielder Bryce Harper and starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg, both former number one picks by the Nats, were named co-players of the week in the National League:
NL Co-Players of the Week:@Bharper3407, WSH (.519, 5 HR, 10 RBI, 12 R, 30 TB)
— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) September 21, 2015
Stephen Strasburg, WSH (2-0, 0.60 ERA, 15.0 IP, 24 SO)
For Harper, it is the third time this year that he has been named Player of the Week. He won the award in back-to-back weeks (week of May 11 and May 18) and was eventually named player of the month for May along with Max Scherzer, who was pitcher of the month. This past week against the Philadelphia Phillies and the Miami Marlins, the 22-year-old right fielder was 14-for-27 (.519) at the plate with five home runs, ten RBI’s, five walks, and had an on-base percentage of .576.
This month, Harper is hitting .435 with ten home runs and 18 RBI’s. He has the most home runs of any player in the game this month and is one RBI behind Nolan Arenado of the Colorado Rockies and Yoenis Cespedes of the New York Mets for the most RBI’s in September. As pointed out by Matt Weyrich in our reaction today, Harper right now has to be the unanimous choice for the National League MVP this season, even if the Nats’ surge for a postseason bid falls short.
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As for Strasburg, the Nats’ right-hander went 2-0 this week with a 0.60 ERA. He went 15 innings, gave up two runs (one earned run) on seven hits, struck out 24 batters to just two walks, and has held opposing hitters to a mere .135 batting average. In a season that has been plagued by injuries, Strasburg is ending his year on a great note. He has 37 strikeouts in his last three starts, which is the most K’s of any pitcher in the game during the month of September. Since the All-Star Break, the 27-year-old is 5-2 with a 2.24 ERA, has 72 strikeouts to six walks, and has held opponents to a .176 batting average.
The only other Nationals’ player to be named player of the week besides Harper and Strasburg Max Scherzer (June 22). As for Strasburg, it is the first time that he has won pitcher of the week since his rookie season in June of 2010. He also was named pitcher of the month in the NL back in April 2012. As the Nats make their final push towards a playoff birth, they will need more great performances from Harper and Strasburg down the stretch.
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