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Cleveland Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis has been named the American League Player of the Week for the period ending June 30th. This marks Jason’s second career weekly honor and his second in the month of June after sharing the award with teammate Corey Kluber for the week ending June 17th. Tribe teammates Ryan Raburn and Justin Masterson have also been tabbed with A.L. Player of the Week Awards this season, winning for the periods ending May 5th and May 19th, respectively. The announcement was made earlier today on MLB Network.
Kipnis batted .478 (11-for-23) with four doubles, three homers, 10 RBI and nine runs scored over the week, hitting safely in all seven games he played. Among Major League leaders, Kipnis finished tops in walks and on-base percentage (.606), was tied for first in RBI and doubles and was second in runs scored. Jason also tied for the A.L. lead in hits, was second in batting average and total bases (24), was third in slugging percentage (1.043) and was tied for fourth in homers.
Among the highlights for the week, the 26-year-old Kipnis launched a two-run homer in the fourth inning of Wednesday’s game against the Baltimore Orioles, snapping a scoreless tie between the two Clubs as Cleveland later went on to plate a pair of runs in the ninth frame to edge the O’s, 4-3, at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. In the first game of a double-dip against the Chicago White Sox on Friday, Kipnis, a native of nearby Northbrook, Illinois, went 3-for-4 with three doubles, three walks, two RBI and four runs scored as the Indians came out on top in a 19-10 slugfest at U.S. Cellular Field. On the day, Kipnis combined to go 4-for-7 with five runs scored, three doubles, four walks and four RBI. On Saturday, the Arizona State University product launched a two-run homer as part of a 2-for-3 effort at the plate to lead Cleveland to a 4-3 win over the White Sox. The sixth-inning blast was his 12th of the season, putting him just two back from tying his career high of 14 set last season.
Kipnis is currently riding a season-best 12-game hitting streak heading into Cleveland’s off day today, batting .500 (20-for-40) with eight doubles, one triple, three homers, 17 RBI, 10 runs scored and 12 walks over the stretch. He has reached base safely in 32 straight games dating back to May 26th, the longest such streak for the Indians since Victor Martinez had a 45-game string split over the 2005-06 seasons. The second round pick in the 2009 Draft batted .419 (39-for-93) with 12 doubles, four homers, 25 RBI, 17 runs scored and 20 walks over 27 games in the month of June.
Other noteworthy performances last week included Josh Donaldson (.500, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 1.188 SLG) and A.J. Griffin (two-hit shutout vs. Cincinnati on June 26th) of the Oakland Athletics; R.A. Dickey (two-hit shutout at Tampa Bay on June 26th) of the Toronto Blue Jays; and Derek Holland (two-hit shutout at the New York Yankees on June 27th) of the Texas Rangers.
In recognition of his American League Player of the Week Award, Jason Kipnis will be awarded a watch courtesy of Game Time, the leader in licensed sports watches, available at MLB.com.
