Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman has been named National League Player of the Week for the period of April 30-May 6, 2012. The announcement was made earlier today on MLB Network. In seven games last week, the left-handed hitting slugger hit .367 (11-for-30) while tying for the Major League lead with 23 total bases. His 11 hits tied for first in the National League, while his 10 RBI tied for second and his three home runs tied for third. Freeman hit safely in six of seven games during the week and also ranked among league leaders with a .767 slugging percentage and six runs scored. On Sunday, the 22-year-old went 2-for-4 with two runs, three RBI, a home run and his first career triple as the Braves completed a three-game sweep of Colorado with a 7-2 victory at Coors Field. It marked Freeman’s third multi-hit effort of the week and his third consecutive game with two-or more RBI. On Friday, May 4th, the Southern California native collected a career-high four hits, surpassing his previous best of three (done 16 times). Freeman was 4-for-6 on the day, blasting a home run with a double and two runs scored en route to a 9-8, 11-inning victory over the Rockies. Atlanta’s second round selection in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft currently ranks third in the National League in RBI (26) and is tied for third in runs scored (21). Freddie, who now has two career weekly awards, has collected both of his weekly honors in the last three weeks (also April 16th-22nd).
Other noteworthy performances last week included Freeman’s Atlanta teammate Chipper Jones (.429, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 9 H); Pittsburgh’s Pedro Alvarez (.364, 3 HR, 8 RBI, .773 SLG, .464 OBP, 7 R) and James McDonald (2-0, 2.57 ERA, 17 SO, 14.0 IP); Carlos Beltran (.389, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 7 H, .722 SLG, .476 OBP), Matt Holliday (.391, HR, 6 RBI, 9 H, .481 OBP) and Adam Wainwright (2-0, 3.21 ERA, 13 SO, 14.0 IP) of the St. Louis Cardinals; Colorado’s Carlos Gonzalez (.391, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 9 H, .826 SLG, .500 OBP, 7 R); Houston’s Chris Johnson (.389, 3 HR, 10 RBI, .889 SLG, .421 OBP), Jed Lowrie (.476, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 10 H, .857 SLG, .560 OBP) and Brett Myers (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 3 SV, 3.0 IP); Philadelphia’s Hunter Pence (.333, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 10 H, 7 R, .733 SLG) and Carlos Ruiz (.333, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 8 H, .667 SLG); and Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton (.333, 4 HR, 6 RBI, 9 H, .852 SLG, .438 OBP) and Ricky Nolasco (2-0, 1.88 ERA, 14.1 IP).
In recognition of his National League Player of the Week Award, Freddie Freeman will be awarded a watch courtesy of Game Time, the leader in licensed sports watches, available at MLB.com.