Shohei Ohtani, Anthony Rizzo and an M's ace top Ben Verlander's MLB Team of the Week

Welcome back, Shohei Ohtani.

He may only be a one-way superstar this year, but Ohtani looks as comfortable as ever as he ends a roller-coaster first month with the Los Angeles Dodgers. His performance at the plate has landed him back on my Team of the Week for the first time in 2024, along with one of his new Dodgers teammates who just became a "friend of the show," and of course received a patented "Flippin' Bats" bump in his performance.

Meanwhile, a Seattle Mariners star is on pace for more starts than walks allowed this season and a familiar face from the New York Yankees looks ready to turn the page on a dismal 2023.

It's time for my latest Team of the Week!

Catcher: Will Smith , Los Angeles Dodgers
.417 batting average, 1 HR, 6 RBIs, 1.153 OPS

Let this be another reminder — if you are an MLB player who would like to play good baseball, coming on "Flippin' Bats" will help you! This has been the case for years now. I don't know what it is, but the results speak for themselves. Smith joined me in the middle of last week and has been lighting it up at the plate over the past several days. The Dodgers have rattled off a six-game winning streak as well. Coincidence? You be the judge.

First Baseman: Anthony Rizzo , New York Yankees
.308 batting average, 4 HR, 6 RBIs, .987 OPS

This was a tough one for me because Smith's teammate Freddie Freeman also had a really good week. But Rizzo gets the nod here thanks to his four homers. It's great to see the 34-year-old veteran look like the Rizzo of old after that awful situation in 2023 where he played for several weeks with misdiagnosed concussion symptoms and had the worst season of his career.

Second Baseman: Edouard Julien , Minnesota Twins
.417 batting average, 3