The First 2021 Player of the Week? Yermín Mercedes, OF COURSE

Even after completely sitting out of Opening Day, Yermín Mercedes was named the first American League Player of the Week on Monday.

Mercedes started the final three games of the Angels series, going 9-for-14 with two doubles, a homer and six RBIs. In the three games, he left the majors stunned with a .643/.643/1.000 slash.

Mercedes went 5-for-5 in his season debut on Friday, becoming the only player in history to record a 5-for-5 game in his first MLB start. Only one other player had ever gotten five hits in his first start, but went a paltry 5-for-7.

As an encore, Yermín started out the game on Saturday with three hits, setting an MLB record for most consecutive hits to start a season at 8-for-8.

Always a joy to watch the field and listen to off it, this incredible season start is made extra heart-rending when recalling that it took Mercedes 10 long years to make the majors. Offhand I’d guess there’s no player in major league history who played three seasons at the DSL level, was released, and then regathered himself to climb his way into the major leagues.

¡Felicidades, Yermín!