MLB Team of the Week: Mike Fiers, Miguel Cabrera and Yoenis Cespedes Star

Jacob Shafer@@jacobshaferX.com LogoFeatured ColumnistAugust 28, 2015

MLB Team of the Week: Mike Fiers, Miguel Cabrera and Yoenis Cespedes Star

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    Pat Sullivan/Associated Press

    Another week of MLB action is in the books, which means it's time for a fresh installment of Bleacher Report's Team of the Week.

    In case you're joining us for the first time, these are the players (one per position, including a starting pitcher and designated hitter) who have busted box scores over the past seven days. Forget their overall stats. We're judging them solely on what they accomplished between August 21 and August 27.

    To qualify, a player needs at least two starts at the position in question, or at least one start for pitchers.

    Finally, we award bonus points if a strong individual performance led to an uptick in the win column—because as the postseason races heat up, that's what it's all about.

Catcher: Travis d'Arnaud, New York Mets

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    David Zalubowski/Associated Press

    Yes, Travis d'Arnaud spent a small portion of his week apologizing for an unintentional bat flip that came after a bases-loaded walk against the Philadelphia Phillies.

    Other than that, though, d'Arnaud acquitted himself admirably, going 9-for-23 with four doubles, three home runs and nine RBI as the New York Mets went 7-0.

    Honorable Mention

    Miguel Montero (CHC): Half of Miguel Montero's six hits left the yard, and the veteran backstop tallied eight RBI as the Chicago Cubs kept control of the second National League wild-card slot.

First Base: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers

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    Carlos Osorio/Associated Press

    After winning four consecutive division titles from 2011 to 2014, the Detroit Tigers are on the verge of missing the postseason entirely.

    That must be especially hard for Miguel Cabrera, he of the Triple Crown and MVP awards.

    Cabrera, who has logged significant time on the disabled list this season, showed flashes of his old self this week, going 13-for-28 with six doubles, a home run and six RBI.

    "I see everything. I see everyone talking. I see everyone pushing," Cabrera said of the last-place Tigers, per James Schmehl of MLive.com. "We want to have a winning streak. But if you're going to have a winning streak, you have to win one game at a time."

    Honorable Mention

    Paul Goldschmidt (ARI): The Arizona Diamondbacks are slithering out of the postseason race, but Paul Goldschmidt solidified his status as one of the game's elite mashers with eight hits in 24 at-bats, including a double and three home runs.

Second Base: Robinson Cano, Seattle Mariners

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    Elaine Thompson/Associated Press

    The Seattle Mariners continued their slide into oblivion, but Robinson Cano punctuated it with a bit of brilliance.

    Overall, Cano went an impressive 10-for-26 on the week. And on Aug. 25, he made history, becoming the first player in the big leagues to log at least 30 doubles in 11 consecutive seasons to start his career, per Shannon Drayer of MyNorthwest.com.

    Honorable Mention

    Jose Altuve (HOU): It was an engine-revving week for spark plug Jose Altuve, who went 8-for-20 with a double, a triple, a home run and a stolen base.

Third Base: Mike Moustakas, Kansas City Royals

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    Winslow Townson/Associated Press

    The Kansas City Royals are one of baseball's few postseason locks, and they cruised through another winning week, thanks in no small part to Mike Moustakas.

    The man the KC faithful lovingly call "Moose" went 12-for-22 with three home runs, 11 RBI and a cartoonish 1.719 OPS, and the Royals went 5-2 to maintain their stranglehold on the AL Central.

    Honorable Mention

    Josh Donaldson (TOR): Josh Donaldson kept his name squarely in the AL MVP conversation with four doubles and a home run among his nine hits, plus 10 RBI.

Shortstop: Francisco Lindor, Cleveland Indians

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    Tony Dejak/Associated Press

    Francisco Lindor arrived in the big leagues this season trailing great expectations, and the Cleveland Indians never stopped believing, as Yahoo Sports' Scott Pianowski recently outlined:

    The 21-year-old shortstop was a Top 10 staple on everyone's prospect list before the season, though to be fair, Lindor's defense was the main element driving the story. ...

    ... A steep learning curve held Lindor back for his first three weeks (.503 OPS), but the Tribe stuck with him, thrilled with his defense and content to let him find his way on offense. Lindor kept the No. 2 spot in the order all through his opening slump, a testament to the patience of skipper Terry Francona.

    That patiencemade easier by the Indians' retreat from the playoff picturepaid dividends this week, as Lindor went 13-for-23 with two doubles, two home runs, six RBI and three stolen bases in as many attempts.

    Honorable Mention

    Wilmer Flores (NYM): Wilmer Flores contributed to the Mets' perfect week, going 11-for-28 with three doubles, two home runs and eight RBI.

Left Field: Yoenis Cespedes, New York Mets

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    David Zalubowski/Associated Press

    Yoenis Cespedes actually saw more starts in center field than in left for the Mets this week. The point, though, is that no matter where he played, the Cuban masher delivered at the plate.

    Cespedes seems to have found another gear since getting traded at the deadline from Detroit to the Big Apple, and he continued to take a bite out of NL pitching this week with 13 hits, including six home runs and an unbelievable 15 RBI.

    Overall, the Mets scored 73 runs in their seven wins, which is quite a turnaround for a squad that sputtered offensively for much of the season.

    That was before Cespedes, though. This is now.

    Honorable Mention

    Ben Revere (TOR): One of the Blue Jays' less heralded deadline acquisitions, Ben Revere went 13-for-26, good for a cool .500 average, with a double and three RBI.

Center Field: Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates

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    Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press

    After a 5-2 week, the Pittsburgh Pirates have a comfortable lead on the No. 1 wild-card spot in the NL.

    But the Bucs are also just 4.5 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central, meaning they can angle for the division crown and avoid the wild-card crapshoot they've been forced to navigate each of the past two seasons.

    Whichever route they take, the Pirates will be glad to have Andrew McCutchen in their corner.

    The former NL MVP went 11-for-25 this week with four doubles, two dingers and seven RBI, and he showed why Pittsburgh is dangerous in any playoff permutation.

    Honorable Mention

    Tommy Pham (STL): Recently summoned from Triple-A, Tommy Pham hit like he belonged this week, going 11-for-28 with a double and two triples for the first-place Cards.

Right Field: Nelson Cruz, Seattle Mariners

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    John Froschauer/Associated Press

    Nelson Cruz launched three long balls this week, bringing his MLB-leading total to 39.

    On top of that, the Seattle slugger went 9-for-28 and added two doubles and seven RBI.

    With 34 games left on the schedule, Cruz has a chance to reach the 50-home run plateau. Admittedly, that milestone means less these days than it once did, but he'd become just the third hitter to hit the mark since 2010.

    Honorable Mention

    Alex Rios (KC): Alex Rios went 12-for-22 with three doubles and a triple, good for a .545 average and a 1.318 OPS.

Designated Hitter: Edwin Encarnacion, Toronto Blue Jays

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    Alex Gallardo/Associated Press

    Hey, not sure if you've heard, but the Blue Jays can hit.

    In fact, the boys from north of the border pace MLB in runs scored and rank near the top in nearly every offensive category.

    Edwin Encarnacion contributed to the high-scoring cause this week, rapping out 10 hits in 25 at-bats, including three doubles, three dingers and an eye-popping 13 RBI.

    "He's just plodding along, delivering," Toronto skipper John Gibbons said of his 32-year-old slugger, per Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star. "I think part of that's the big year [Josh] Donaldson's had. Even just talking about recently, [Jose] Bautista's heating up, now the addition of [Troy] Tulowitzki. I think [Encarnacion] can kind of sneak by under the radar."

    Under the radar, perhaps, but also onto the Team of the Week.

    Honorable Mention

    Evan Gattis (HOU): Five of Evan Gattis' eight hits this week went for extra bases, as he smacked a double and four home runs wile amassing seven RBI.

Pitcher: Mike Fiers, Houston Astros

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    Pat Sullivan/Associated Press

    Mike Fiers didn't top anyone's preseason list of pitchers most likely to author a no-hitter. But there he was on Aug. 21 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, getting swarmed by teammates at Minute Maid Park after recording 27 outs without yielding a knock.

    Forget the Twitter-fueled, tempest-in-a-teapot allegations that he had some mysterious substance on his glove.

    Fiers gutted out one of the true masterpieces of 2015, a 134-pitch, 10-strikeout gem that put a exclamation mark on the first-place Houston Astros' magical, unexpected season.

    "It was like a dream," the 30-year-old right-hander said, per Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle. "You throw the last pitch, you feel the emotion of everything you've been through in your life. I've been through a lot. To get to this point and do that and have your teammates come out like that, it's crazy."

    Honorable Mention

    Justin Verlander (DET): The week nearly gave us two no-hitters, but Justin Verlander fell just short, surrendering his first hit in the ninth inning on Aug. 26 against the Los Angeles Angels and settling for a complete-game shutout with nine strikeouts. 

    All statistics current as of Aug. 27 and courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.

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