Major League Baseball

Masataka Yoshida, Ozzie Albies headline MLB Team of the Week

Updated May. 8, 2023 1:37 p.m. ET

Ben Verlander

FOX Sports MLB Analyst

We're one week into May and there are some clear standouts early in this MLB season.

A pair of teams had three players representing them, while an AL East team had two outfielders make the squad.

Here's my Team of the Week, as presented on Flippin' Bats, for the first week of May!

Masataka Yoshida and Anthony Santander headline Ben's Team of the Week

Ben Verlander gives his Team of the Week, which is headlined by Boston Red Sox Masataka Yoshida and Baltimore Orioles Anthony Santander.

Catcher: Sean Murphy, Atlanta Braves — .391 batting average, three home runs, 12 RBIs, 1.375 OPS

Murphy was on my team of the month in his first month with a new team. Now, to start off this new month, he's back on my team of the week. Sean Murphy, so far this season, has been the best catcher in baseball. It's been a huge pickup for a team that almost felt complete. Then, they added Sean Murphy, who's been one of the best young catches in all baseball and is quickly putting himself on the horizon as a top catcher overall. I certainly would put him in that top five catchers in the game, maybe top three.

First base: Christian Walker, Arizona Diamondbacks — .429 batting average, three home runs, 1.393 OPS

Walker has very similar numbers to Sean Murphy. The D-Backs are playing some good baseball. You know I like their team. I'm also a big Corbin Carroll guy.

Second base: Ozzie Albies, Atlanta Braves — .433 batting average, two home runs, five doubles, .800 slugging percentage

Ozzie's having the best year for a second baseman in the game of baseball, I think. I love me some Ozzie Albies. He's a switch-hitter who hits well from both sides of the plate. We're talking about an elite player in this game and he has been so far this year.

Third base: J.D. Davis, San Francisco Giants — .353 batting average, two home runs, 1.156 OPS

Davis had a really good week, and one the Giants really needed. They need to find offense from somewhere. As we all know, their offseason didn't work out for them in terms of getting that big offensive bat they needed. So, they need somebody to step up and this week it was J.D. Davis.

Shortstop: Javy Baez, Detroit Tigers — .409 batting average, three home runs, 1.364 OPS

I love that I'm able to say this, because Javy Baez had gotten to a place where it was a tough watch. He seemed to be striking out every other at-bat. Striking out three times per game. Now, he's on a roll. For the first time in his career, he played in five full consecutive games without striking out a single time. So, to me, that says that we've got perhaps a little bit of a shift in mindset at the plate, which is exactly what he needed.

Outfield: Anthony Santander, Baltimore Orioles — .435 batting average, three home runs, eight RBIs

I was expecting a big year out of him, especially after the World Baseball Classic for Venezuela. He had a bit of a slow start and I was wondering when it was going to happen for him because I believed it to be true. I think this week is the breakout point for him this season. I really like him and what he did for the Orioles this week.

Outfield: Masataka Yoshida, Boston Red Sox — .458 batting average, two home runs, 1.352 OPS

What Yoshida is doing right now is crazy. A couple of weeks ago, he hit two home runs in an inning in Milwaukee. One of them was a grand slam. I said that day, ‘This is going to be the Masataka Yoshida breakout game.’ He has not looked back. He's turned it on. We saw this from him in the World Baseball Classic, and he's kept it going.

Masataka Yoshida and Bryce Miller headline Ben's Top 3 Rookies of the Week

Outfield: Alex Verdugo, Boston Red Sox — .400 batting average, two home runs, 1.420 OPS

Another Red Sox player on the list! The Red Sox are playing good baseball and it's a lot because of these two outfielders, who are absolutely raking. I'm rocking his shirt, where he's rocking the baby, and he's having a great year so far.

Designated hitter: Marcell Ozuna, Atlanta Braves — .350 batting average, four home runs, .950 slugging percentage

This kind of came out of nowhere. Ozuna was downright bad to start the season. Then, he had a multi-home run game. He really figured it out and had one of the best weeks of any hitter last week.

Starting pitcher: Eduardo Rodriguez, Detroit Tigers — 1-0 with nine strikeouts, two hits and a walk allowed in eight innings pitched

Eduardo Rodriguez threw great against the New York Mets. This year, he has a 1.88 ERA. He's just dominating this year. This is like vintage Eduardo Rodriguez that we hadn't yet seen in a Tigers uniform. We are this year. The guy's not going to throw 96 by you, but he's going to spot up. He's going to absolutely paint on the corners with mixed speeds and mixed pitches.

Relief pitcher: Alex Lange, Detroit Tigers — Three saves, 3 ⅔ innings pitched, eight strikeouts, two hits, zero earned runs

Another Tiger! We've got the whole battery in here. Look at the Tigers, turning things around just a little bit.

Player of the week: Masataka Yoshida

Since that game I mentioned, he's arguably been the best player in baseball. I love to see it. I love seeing the homers and he inflatable dumbbells in the dugout when he hits a home run.

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