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Written by Cory Puffett
Published May 17, 2026
Players of the Week
Catcher - Drake Baldwin, 9.85 points (Cory Puffett
1st Baseman - Nick Kurtz, 12.80 points (Sam Martin)
2nd Baseman - Xavier Edwards, 6.10 points (Cory Puffett)
3rd Baseman - Munetaka Murakami, 8.30 points (Cory Puffett)
Shortstop - Elly De La Cruz, 8.60 points (Cory Puffett)
OF - Kyle Schwarber, 12.00 points (Alex Mayo)
UTIL - Bryce Harper, 7.25 points (Stephen April)
SP - Zack Wheeler, 23.55 points (Rich Blorstad)
RP - Cade Smith, 13.75 points (Sam Martin)
If it's not Matt Olson, it's Nick Kurtz. While Olson has five of the last seven Paul Goldschmidt Awards, the other two have now gone to Kurtz. This week it was by no small margin.
Fireflies teammates Drake Baldwin and Xavier Edwards earned their first career player of the week nods.
Munetaka Murakami, also on Cory's Fireflies, now has three player of the week awards in his rookie season, the most among any third baseman in the AOA this season.
Bryce Harper joined Murakami as the only two repeat players of the week from Week 7.
Zack Wheeler was this week's lone 20-point scorer, playing a crucial role in Rich's narrow Game of the Week victory.
Cade Smith was the only reliever to reach double digits this week, earning his first career player of the week honors for Sam's Lowlanders.
Game of the Week: Rich Blorstad (107.25) vs Cory Frontin (105.25)
Game of the Week: Rich Blorstad (107.25) vs Cory Frontin (105.25)
All-time H2H: Rich leads series 5-1
It was a tale of two disciplines, and pitching proved more impactful than hitting in this matchup.
Cory’s offense enjoyed a strong week. Though his squad only hit one more home run than Rich’s, his Trowels netted 10 more extra base hits than the Dredgers, contributing to a nearly 15-point offensive advantage.
Though both pitching staffs had similar woes, taking four losses each on the week, Rich’s Dredgers were far more effective in keeping runners off the bases and runs off the board across an extra half-game of outs. That was enough to make up for the hitting deficit and then some, helping him hold onto a share of the AOA East division lead.
Rich's 2-point margin of victory is the narrowest of the 2026 season.
Rich's top scorer: Zack Wheeler, 23.55 points (2 starts)
Cory's top scorer: Shohei Ohtani, 18.80 points (1 start & 4 games)
Cory Puffett (108.05) vs Stephen April (99.95)
Cory Puffett (108.05) vs Stephen April (99.95)
All-time H2H: Cory leads series 3-1
Cory's top scorer: Nathan Eovaldi, 11.70 points (1 start)
Stephen's top scorer: Cristopher Sanchez, 14.70 points (1 start)
Sean Kennedy (86.60) vs Sam Martin (98.60)
Sean Kennedy (86.60) vs Sam Martin (98.60)
All-time H2H: Sam leads series 10-3
Sean's top scorer: Freddy Peralta, 11.05 points (2 starts)
Sam's top scorer: Cade Smith, 13.75 points (3 appearances)
Alex Mayo (56.15) vs Eric Meyer (83.25)
Alex Mayo (56.15) vs Eric Meyer (83.25)
All-time H2H: Series tied 7-7
Alex's top scorer: Kyle Schwarber, 12.00 points (6 games)
Eric's top scorer: Nolan McLean, 9.75 points (1 start)
Rich Blorstad held on to the top spot in the power rankings this week. It is his 15th time atop the power rankings in his career.
Alex Mayo has now been at the bottom of the power rankings for three straight weeks. This was his fourth week with the league's lowest score this season, clinching him his 17th career appearances at the bottom of the power rankings.
Note: MLB issues stat corrections up to 7 days after games. These corrections will be applied to games, including those that have been completed, but these articles will not necessarily be updated with those stat corrections.
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