Byron Buxton earns Player of the Week for a fourth time as Twins stars shine

Major League Baseball handed out new Player of the Week awards across both leagues, and Byron Buxton added another chapter to his resumé by taking home AL Player of the Week for a fourth career time. The Twins center fielder, who previously won an AL Player of the Week honor on May 4, put together a week that leaned hard into what has defined his best seasons when he is healthy and in rhythm.

In six games last week, Buxton went 11-for-24 at the plate (.458). He delivered three doubles and four home runs, drove in seven runs, and scored six times. Speed was part of the performance, too, with a stolen base in the span of his week. The combination mattered, because it is the kind of two-way offensive production that can change the shape of an opponent’s week defensively and in run-scoring planning.

The larger picture around Buxton is productivity over time. The Player of the Week award arrives with him positioned to challenge his previous power standard, with the release noting he has 22 home runs through 61 games. That pace places him on course to surpass the career high of 35 home runs he set a year ago. His season profile also points toward sustained slugging rather than a short-lived spike, with a slash line of.276/.336/.600 and an OPS+ of 153 reported in the same announcement.

Buxton was not the only player collecting weekly hardware. MLB also named Brewers rookie Jacob Misiorowski and Brewers star Jackson Chourio as the latest Player of the Week recipients in their league, with the announcement describing them as having “taken turns” producing standout stretches. That matters in the broader league story because it underscores how quickly younger hitters in Milwaukee are shaping games week to week.

For Buxton and the Twins, the award is a clear reminder of how much value can come from a healthy run for a player whose role is built around impact. As the season moves deeper, weekly honors do not decide standings by themselves, but they can illuminate momentum and the kind of lineup ceiling teams can reach when key bats are driving the ball and getting on base at a higher clip.

The caveat with any Player of the Week discussion is that it reflects a short sample. Over the long haul, consistency, health, and matchups are what sustain production. Still, when the league’s spotlight lands on a stat line as concentrated as Buxton’s six-game output, it is also a report that his all-around offensive package is currently functioning at a high level.

Looking ahead, the next question is whether Buxton can carry the power and efficiency into the weeks that follow, and how the Twins manage their lineup around him and other contributors as schedules tighten. With both AL and NL awards going to players at different stages of development, MLB’s weekly hardware also gives a season-to-season look at who is heating up and who is answering the moment.