Updated

Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez has been named the National League's Player of the Week for games played between June 17-23.

Alvarez batted .414 (12-for-29) and homered in four straight games while tallying a league-best 10 RBI to help the Pirates win five of seven contests. The No. 2 overall pick of the 2008 draft hit safely in all seven games and compiled a .931 slugging percentage and a .452 on-base percentage for the week.

The 26-year-old, whose 19 homers is currently tied for second in the NL this season, earned the award for the third time in his career.

Others considered for the award included San Francisco's Gregor Blanco, Cincinnati's Jay Bruce and Joey Votto, Arizona's Paul Goldschmidt, Philadelphia's Ryan Howard, the Los Angeles Dodgers' Hanley Ramirez, David Wright and Matt Harvey of the New York Mets and the Chicago Cubs' Jeff Samardzija.