Cascade High School grad named AL Player of the Week

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Cascade High School grad named AL Player of the Week
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Cascade High School grad named AL Player of the Week
Tampa Bay outfielder Steven Souza Jr. bats during a game Sunday against the Houston Astros in St. Petersburg, Florida. (AP Photo/Steve Nesius)
Cascade High School grad named AL Player of the Week

Steven Souza Jr. turned 28 on Monday, and the Cascade High School graduate received quite a birthday present.

Souza, an outfielder for the Tampa Bay Rays, was named the American League Player of the Week on Monday. It’s the first player-of-the-week honor for Souza, who has been in the big leagues since 2014.

Souza hit .414 during the week of April 17-23 and led the AL over that span in hits (12) and runs batted in (nine).

Going into Tuesday night’s game in Baltimore, Souza was batting .333, with four home runs and 17 RBI.

He was tied for the AL lead in hits (26) and RBI, and ranked second in the league in runs scored (14).

“This is a great honor,” Souza told mlb.com. “This is an honor we share as a team. I think, over and over again, the common denominator with me was to get out of my own way. Just trying to go out there (and) have fun.”