Carlos Correa may just be the hottest hitter on the planet, and after a torrid week at the plate, the Twins’ shortstop earned himself American League Player of the Week honors.

Correa went 17 for 31 last week (.548) with three home runs, nine RBIs and nine runs scored. He led the major leagues in hits, total bases and runs scored. Five of those hits came in one game when he recorded a new career high against the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday.

The shortstop currently is on an eight-game hitting streak. In six of those games, he has multiple hits. Correa has been red-hot since June started, hitting .431 with a 1.108 OPS this month. In the process, he’s lifted his batting average from .259 to .308 and his OPS from .778 to .878.

“I started the season feeling great, then went on the IL for a little bit and then couldn’t quite find the feel,” Correa said Sunday. “Lately, I’ve bene feeling a lot better in terms of what I was feeling prior to the injury. I’m in a good spot right now. Now, I just want to make it last as long as possible.”

It’s the fourth time Correa has earned these honors and the first time as a member of the Twins as he makes a push for inclusion in next month’s All-Star Game.

In the first voting update, released Monday, Correa sat 10th among shortstops. He is the only Twins player to appear in the top 10 of voting at his position. While he is unlikely to get voted in by fans —  leaders at shortstop, Gunnar Henderson and Bobby Witt Jr., had 740,436 and 541,261 votes respectively to Correa’s 60,311 — he’s certainly been making his case for a spot as a reserve.

“Every single time he swings the bat, I feel like he’s barreling it up. Every single time,” teammate Bailey Ober said. “ … I wouldn’t want to face him right now.”

Austin Martin honored

Correa wasn’t the only Twin to be honored on Monday. Rookie Austin Martin’s home run robbery of Shea Langeliers was named MLB’s play of the week.

In the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader Martin leapt up, threw his glove past the wall in center field and came down with the ball, much to the surprise of even himself.

“I felt it go in my glove, but my whole arm kind of went over, so I didn’t know what I would be bringing back,” he said. “I didn’t expect to bring back a baseball. So, when I looked and I had it, I was like, ‘Dang, that’s not bad.’ ”

Martin put the catch among the top three of his career before revising his answer. “I guess that was the best one I’ve had, honestly,” he said.

Briefly

The Twins have released Keoni Cavaco, whom they selected 13th overall in the 2019 draft. The 23-year-old never played above high Class A. He was hitting .144 in 34 games with Cedar Rapids at the time of his release and was a career .212 hitter in the minor leagues.

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