Giants outfielder Luis Matos named NL Player of the Week

May 20, 2024, 12:38 PM | Updated: 12:58 pm

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 13: Luis Matos #29 of the San Francisco Giants rounds the bases aft...

(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Lead Editor & Kings Beat Writer

A lot can change in one week.

Seven days after logging his first start since March 31st, San Francisco Giants outfielder Luis Matos has been named National League Player of the Week.

Matos, who has spent most of this season with the AAA-level Sacramento River Cats, was called up on May 12th and slotted into the starting lineup on May 13th as the Giants awaited word on injured outfielder Jung Hoo Lee’s shoulder.

The 22-year-old has returned to the big-league club with plenty of flare, robbing home runs against the division rival Los Angeles Dodgers and pummeling Colorado Rockies pitching during a three-game series sweep over the weekend.

Over his past six games, Matos went 10-for-26 (.385) at the plate while mashing two home runs and driving in 16 runs.

According to Opta Stats, Matos became the youngest player in league history to record at least five RBI in back-to-back games since it became an official stat in 1920, driving in five runs against the Rockies on Friday and six more during Saturday’s win at Oracle Park.

Matos, who has played in just eight games this season, has jumped to fourth on the Giants’ RBI leaderboard this season, with the three players ahead of him (Thairo Estrada, Matt Chapman, and Michael Conforto) all having logged 38 games or more.

For the first time since Brandon Crawford received the honor in 2018, a San Francisco Giant is the NL Player of the Week.

After putting up a historic week for the #SFGiants, @LuisMatoss24 has been crowned the NL Player of the Week 👑 pic.twitter.com/CdTZeiys5r

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) May 20, 2024

More on Luis Matos

Matos, who has spent most of the early portion of this season with AAA Sacramento, was called up last week as the Giants navigate an injured list that is full of regulars.

San Francisco’s roster has been decimated by injuries, with outfielders Jung Hoo Lee (shoulder), Austin Slater (concussion) and Michael Conforto (hamstring), pitcher Blake Snell (adductor), catchers Patrick Bailey (concussion) and Tom Murphy (knee), and shortstop Nick Ahmed (wrist) out of action.

With Lee ruled out for the remainder of the regular season, the door has opened for Matos, and the outfielder turned heads with his impressive play–both in the batter’s box and in center field.

Matos appears to have a leg up on securing everyday reps in center field for the foreseeable future, even when Slater and Conforto return from the injured list.