Red o' the Week - Mat Latos wins NL Player of the Week, but that all depends on your definition of "week"

Huzzah and oyez to Johnny Cueto for earning the most deserved distinction of starting the All Star Game for the National League...making the National League All Star team...winning the Red Reporter Red' o' the Week commemorative plate for week 11. He may not have gotten an all expenses paid trip to beautiful Kansas City, MO, but he will be getting a dinner plate with his face painted on it by Red Reporter's Artist in Residence, Art the Fart. Not bad.

This week, Mat Latos earned an actual real life worth something award, taking home Player of the Week honors for the National League. He's the second Red to win it this season, as Jay Bruce won it for the last week of April. Now that I think about it, it's really strange that Joey Votto hasn't won one of those real actual things this year. He's the best. He won't be winning the Red o' the Week this week either, as his streak of mundane humanity continues. Which is cool, I guess. It gives some of the other guys a chance to look good.

Ryan Ludwick

Don't get your excited pants on just yet, but Duck Man is starting to heat up. Last week, he slugged a pair of home rungoes and OPS'd 1.035. His season OPS is up to almost .800 now, which would be more than adequate if he can keep it up. Dusty is riding his hot bat, as he started five of the seven games in LF this week. Bummer for Chris Heisey I guess, but Ducky is earning it and he isn't.

Todd Frazier

Frazier continues to take advantage of Scott Rolen's absence, slugging three extra-base hits last week. His two triples push his season total to five, which is like way more than anyone else on the team. His seven hits in five starts added up to a 1.228 OPS.

Jay Bruce

The Bruiser likes the West Coast (despite that embarrassing non-catch in San Fran), as he's put together a modest four-game hitting streak out there. For the week, he rapped out nine hits, including two doubles and a homer. Bruce has earned himself a reputation as a streaky hitter, but his June was a model of consistency. He OPS'd .854 for the month and his season total hovered around that number all month, only varying from .838 to .877.

Mat Latos

Latos earned NL Player of the Week honors, but we count things a bit differently here. They go from Monday to Sunday, but we go from Tuesday to Monday. We do it a bit differently because we started running this on a Tuesday and it just kinda stuck that way. Irregardless! Latos sliced up some eyeballs, hurling a complete game against the Giants. He struck out seven and allowed only two hits, facing only two hitters above the minimum. He's posted game scores of 80 and 82 in his past two starts, but you should only take his 82 game into account when deciding your vote here. Shut up.

Mike Leake

Leake and Latos went back to back against the Giants, though deciding which performance was better is probably a function of which pitching style you prefer. While Latos gave up only two hits and struck out seven, Leake scattered nine hits and struck out only four. He relied on his defense to do work for him, and it worked out beautifully. Good pitching is good.