Miguel Vargas and Jake Cronenworth picked the right week to catch fire.
With both the White Sox and Padres pushing for postseason spots, the two infielders each earned their second career MLB Player of the Week Award after turning in huge stretches at the plate.
Vargas, who first won the honor last May, kept building on what has already been a breakout season. The 26-year-old All-Star went 8-for-23 (.348) last week with a double, three homers, nine RBIs and two steals as the White Sox won four of seven to move into the final seven days of the season just a game behind the Guardians in the AL Central race.
His season line now sits at .251/.362/.482 with 101 runs scored, 31 doubles, a triple, 33 homers, 88 RBIs and 20 steals, along with a 5.3 WAR and 135 OPS+. That production has put him alongside Magglio Ordonez (2001) and Luis Robert Jr. (2023) as the only White Sox hitters ever to post a 30-homer, 20-steal season.
The best snapshot of Vargas’ all-around game came Saturday against the Tigers. He homered, swiped a base and made a standout defensive play at third in a game the White Sox badly needed.
Cronenworth’s award came with a different backdrop. The Padres infielder hadn’t done much at the plate for most of the year, but he arrived just in time for San Diego’s push.
After entering last week with a .581 OPS, the 32-year-old went 13-for-28 (.464) with a double, a triple, two homers, eight RBIs, eight runs scored and two steals. The Padres won six of seven, putting themselves on the doorstep of a playoff berth and still in the mix for the top NL Wild Card spot.
It was also the second straight NL Player of the Week Award for San Diego, following Jackson Merrill’s win on Sept. 14.
The week’s Play of the Week came from a surprising place, with Pirates veteran Ryan O'Hearn delivering a highlight that will stick around. O'Hearn, who has made only 35 of his 97 starts this season at first base, made a slick stop Saturday on a sacrifice bunt, ranging far to his right before flipping the ball between his legs to pitcher Brandon Eisert for the out.
"I thought we were watching the Savannah Bananas for a second on that play," said longtime Pirates broadcaster Bob Walk.
In Other News...
Former White Sox Players Are Fueling A Playoff Push Chicago Can Feel
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Sheets is on the injured list but expected back for the postseason, while Hays has carved out a part-time role after being designated for assignment by the White Sox. Harris has become an everyday piece for San Diego after a series of transactions that also involved the White Sox and Astros, giving the Padres another useful bat at just the right time. For Chicago, it is the kind of reminder that roster churn does not always end when a player leaves town, especially when those players suddenly become part of a contenders most important stretch. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Wild Card Cushion Suddenly Feels Less Comfortable
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For Chicago, that means the cushion in the wild card standings can no longer be treated like firm ground. Houstons path depends on a combination of its own remaining games and results elsewhere, with Texas, Toronto and Baltimore all part of the larger postseason puzzle, but the White Sox are the team most directly in the crosshairs. The margin is still there for now, yet it is the kind of lead that can shrink quickly when one contender is playing with multiple routes and every game around them starts to matter. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Suddenly Have A Breakout Problem Fans Will Love
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The good problem is that Chicago may not have an easy path to fitting both players into the same long-term picture. Their skills overlap in some ways, the roster already has other young options in the pipeline, and the White Sox could eventually have to sort out whether either player settles into a platoon, a utility role or becomes part of a bigger trade discussion. [Read more 🡒]