Royals’ Vinnie Pasquantino earns top American League honor after blistering week
Vinnie Pasquantino was the best player in the American League over the past week.
On Monday, Pasquantino was recognized as the AL Player of the Week.
From June 2-8, he guided the Kansas City Royals to a 3-3 record against the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago White Sox. The Royals slugger posted a .500 batting average with 13 hits, 20 total bases and seven RBIs during the road recently completed road trip.
Pasquantino, 27, ranked third in the majors with a .536 on-base percentage and a 1.305 OPS (on-base plus slugging) during that span. He also extended his career-high 24 game on-base streak against the Chicago White Sox on Sunday.
“His swings have been outstanding,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “His swing decisions have been good and he is using the whole field.”
Pasquantino hit consecutive homers against the White Sox last weekend. He finished the three-game series in Chicago a red-hot 6-for-11 at the plate.
The Royals (34-32) recently moved Pasquantino into the cleanup spot. He leads the team with 10 home runs and 38 RBIs.
This is his second career AL Player of the Week honor; the first recognized his stellar play Aug. 8-14 in 2022.
Pasquantino is the first Royals player to earn this particular weekly award this season. In 2024, Bobby Witt Jr. received the honor twice during his runner-up AL MVP campaign.
Last week, Royals pitcher Kris Bubic earned AL Pitcher of the Month honors for his work on the mound in the month of May.
The Royals welcome the New York Yankees to Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday evening. Pasquantino, who owns a nine-game hitting streak, looks to continue his torrid stretch at home.
“Vinnie has been swinging the bat really well for like six, seven weeks now,” Quatraro said. “I don’t know if that has much to do with where he is hitting in the order. If it does, good, but he has been on a pretty good hot streak here for a while now.”
