Phillies Player of the Week: Vincent Velasquez
By Matt Veasey
The Philadelphia Phillies top player of the second week of the 2016 season is announced.
Following each week of the 2016 season, we are selecting and presenting our TBOH Phillies Player of the Week. The selection periods will cover from Monday games through the following weekend.
The experience for the team during this second week of the season was far different from the first. After losing their first four games to open the campaign, the club had to bounce back over that weekend to win the final two games, salvaging a 2-4 opening.
This past week, the Phillies went 4-3, winning three of four games to open the week against the San Diego Padres, and then dropping two of three games in a weekend series with the division rival Washington Nationals.
During the week, Odubel Herrera hit .316 with a 1.009 OPS, legging out both a double and a triple. He scored twice and drove in two runs, and stole a base. In another week of little offensive production, he was the team leader in that area.
But for a second consecutive week, our TBOH Phillies Player of the Week honors go to a right-handed starting pitcher. And, in fact, the honor goes to the exact same pitcher as last week: Vincent Velasquez.
Related Story: Phillies Player of Week One: Vince Velasquez
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Velasquez earned his honors this week with one of the greatest single-game starting pitching performances in the history of the 133-year old franchise in shutting out the Padres in a 3-0 Thursday afternoon matinée victory at Citizens Bank Park.
In earning the win on that afternoon, Velasquez tossed the first shutout and first complete game of his professional career at any level. The 23-year old was never in trouble, overpowering the San Diego lineup, striking out 16 batters while walking none. He allowed just three scattered hits on the day.
Velasquez is now 2-0 on the young season, allowing a mere six hits over his first 15 innings, with a 25/3 K:BB ratio. Velasquez has a two-start week scheduled for the upcoming third week of the season, those starts coming at home against the Mets, and then on the road this coming weekend at Milwaukee. Can he make it three Player of the Week honors in a row?