Shohei Ohtani headlines Ben Verlander’s MLB team of the week

The MLB trade deadline is upon us. But before we hit Tuesday’s deadline, it’s time to dish out my team of the week.

My team this week includes a pair of stars who were rumored to be possible trade candidates in recent weeks. It also features several players who have just been flat-out stars this season. 

Let’s get to it!

Catcher: Yainer Diaz, Houston Astros — .500 batting average, three home runs, eight RBIs, 1.086 OPS

Diaz should be the starting catcher for the Houston Astros. He had another tremendous week proving his case. 

A lot of Astros fans will ask me why Diaz isn’t the starting catcher on a full-time basis. It’s just as simple as some pitchers wanting to throw to certain catchers. Behind the scenes, some pitchers are likely saying they want to throw to Martin Maldonado. A lot of pitchers probably just want to throw to Maldonado because he’s one of the best behind the plate. 

First base: Pete Alonso, New York Mets — .304 batting average, four home runs, 10 RBIs, 1.211 OPS

Alonso was struggling for a while, but he broke out of it in a big way this week, hitting four homers. It might have been too little, too late for the Mets because they’ve decided to sell. He came back to his usual self this week, though. 

Second base: Whit Merrifield, Toronto Blue Jays — .500 batting average, two home runs, six RBIs, 1.308 OPS

All-Star Whit Merrifield, some people might not know that. 

When you talk about the Blue Jays and them playing well as of late, Merrifield isn’t one of the first players you’d bring up. Nobody is really saying this team is great because of him. But he’s had key at-bats for them as of late and is having a good bounce-back year. 

Third base: Max Muncy, Los Angeles Dodgers — .250 batting average, four home runs, 11 RBIs, 1.210 OPS

Another great week for him as he’s adding them up recently following a slow start.

Muncy was the Dodgers’ offense on Saturday. Los Angeles only had two hits, both of which came from Muncy. Both of them were home runs to drive in three runs in a 3-2 win over the Reds. 

Shortstop: Bobby Witt Jr., Kanas City Royals — .462 batting average, two home runs, nine RBIs, 1.328 OPS

Oh, baby! What a week for Bobby Witt Jr.!

He hit a walk-off grand slam on Friday that was electric and really did everything this week. He had a bit of a sluggish year for a while, but he’s going to be one of the stars of the game for a long time to come. I’m excited to watch him play on a winning team at some point. 

And that bat flip by Witt on that grand slam was electric. 

Outfield: Lars Nootbaar, St. Louis Cardinals — .412 batting average, three home runs, six RBIs, 1.501 OPS

Just an absolutely dominant week from Nootbaar. He’s been raking at the plate. 

I just love Lars – a friend of the pod and a great dude. He’s starting to come into his own this year after a standout performance at the World Baseball Classic. 

Outfield: Julio Rodríguez, Seattle Mariners — .345 batting average, three home runs, four RBIs, 1.125 OPS

Rodríguez had a slower start to the year, at least compared to expectations after his tremendous rookie season. He’s picked it up lately though, hitting homers and playing great defense to give the Mariners the boost they need if they want to stay in playoff contention. 

Outfield: Ronald Acuña Jr., Atlanta Braves — .412 batting average, one home run, three RBIs, 1.153 OPS

The heavy MVP favorite had another great week. 

On top of all of those elite stats, he reached 50 stolen bases on the season this past week. It’s the first time that any player has reached that mark this early since Jose Reyes did it in 2007. It’s a great feat as he looks to go for 40-40. 

Designated hitter: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels — .300 batting average, four home runs, five RBIs, 1.412 OPS

And the other heavy MVP favorite also had another great week. 

Ohtani hit four more homers to extend his home run lead to 39 on the season. More on him … now!

Starting pitcher: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels — 1-0, eight strikeouts, nine innings pitched, .038 batting average against

This is not a typo. Ohtani deservedly makes this team twice for the first time. 

Typically, pitchers with two starts get an edge for this. But Ohtani was elite in his lone start of the week. He threw a complete game one-hitter as he’s making a late case to enter contention for the Cy Young Award. I’m also happy he went through a start without any fingernail issues. 

Relief pitcher: Adbert Alzolay, Chicago Cubs — Three saves, four strikeouts, 3 ⅓ innings pitched, zero earned runs, zero walks, two hits

He’s gotten plenty of save opportunities lately with the Cubbies rolling. 

Player of the week: Shohei Ohtani

We know who it’s going to be. Just another remarkable week, and when you get placed in two different positions, you’re a lock to be named player of the week.

Ohtani has instantly paid off the Angels’ decision to keep him through the end of the season, carrying the team as they’ve also added reinforcements around him in recent days. His double-header performance on Thursday was historic, pitching a complete game in one outing and hitting a homer in the other.

Honorable mention: Nicky Lopez for getting traded from the Royals to the Braves.