29-year old righty swinging 2B Howie Kendrick is having a true breakout year in 2013.  He has played in 64 games for the Angels so far this year and he is 78 for 246 (.317 avg, .819 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 8 homers, 32 RBIs and 6 stolen bases.  Kendrick is off to a really hot start in June, as he has played in 9 games so far this month in which he is 15 of 35 (.429 avg, .988 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer, 3 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  Kendrick has career highs coming into this season of 86 runs scored, 18 homers, 75 RBIs and 14 stolen bases.  If Kendrick stays healthy, I think he will set new career highs in all four of the categories mentioned.

21-year old righty swinging LF Mike Trout is having a solid year for the Angels in 2013.  He has played in 38 games for the Angels so far this year and he is 45 of 159 (.283 avg, .851 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 6 homers, 25 RBIs and 6 stolen bases.  A lot of people are likely a little down on Trout, as he is coming nowhere near his production level of 2012.  He played in 139 games for the Angels last year and he was 182 of 559 (.326 avg, .963 OPS) with 129 runs scored, 30 homers, 83 RBIs and 49 stolen bases.  Still, Trout has been one of the most productive hitters on the Angels so far this year and he could go on a tear at any time with the bat.

Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton get all of the headlines, but 27-year old righty swinging 1B/DH Mark Trumbo has been the best hitter on the Angels so far this year.  He has played in 33 games for the Angels so far this year and he is 39 for 134 (.291 avg, .910 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 9 homers, 23 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  He has whiffed 39 times so far this year, but the Angels will accept the whiffs for the power that Trumbo provides them.  Trumbo has now played in 334 games in his first four years with the Angels and he is 323 of 1,232 (.262 avg, .795 OPS) with 150 runs scored, 70 homers, 207 RBIs and 14 stolen bases.

With starting 3B Alberto Callaspo hurting right now, 25-year old righty swinging Luis Jimenez is getting his first shot at the show.  He has played in 4 games for the Angels so far this year and he is 5 for 12 (.417 avg, 1.045 OPS) with 1 run scored and 2 doubles.  Jimenez has also played in 8 games in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 11 for 30 (.367 avg, .991 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer, 4 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  Jimenez came into this season as the Angels’ #17 prospect according to Baseball America.  If he stays hot, he might just bump Callaspo to the bench.

33-year old righty swinging 1B Albert Pujols signed a 10-year, $240 million dollar deal with the Angels two winters ago.  He played in 154 games for the Angels in the first year of his deal in 2012 and he was 173 of 607 (.285 avg, .859 OPS) with 85 runs scored, 30 homers, 105 RBIs and 8 stolen bases.  He got off to a really slow start last year before coming on strongly the last four months.  This year has been different though as Pujols is off to a hot start with the bat in 2013 for the Angels.  He has played in 8 games for the Angels so far this year and he is 9 for 26 (.346 avg, 1.206 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 2 homers and 5 RBIs.  Pujols is really locked in at the plate as he has already walked 9 times while only walking 3 times so far this year.  Pujols could be in for a huge year with the bat in 2013 for the Angels.

The Angels didn’t hit too well as a team against the Reds in the season opening series in Cincinnati.  But, you can’t blame 29-year old righty swinging catcher Chris Iannetta or 29-year old switch-hitting SS Erick Aybar for that.  Iannetta played in 2 games for the Angels against the Reds and he was 3 for 9 (.333 avg, 1.067 OPS) with 1 run scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs.  Aybar played in all 3 games against the Reds and he was 5 for 14 (.357 avg, .786 OPS) with 2 runs scored.  The Angels hope that the rest of the team will start hitting better against the Rangers this weekend.

28-year old switch-hitting shortstop Erick Aybar has been red hot with the bat lately. Since August 1st, Aybar has played in 26 games in which he is 36 of 103 (.350 avg) with 20 runs scored, 3 homers, 11 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Aybar has now played in 117 games overall this year for the Angels and he is 120 of 430 (.279 avg, .723 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 7 homers, 39 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. The Angels need Aybar to keep swinging a hot stick in September if they are going to make the playoffs.

29-year old switch-hitting DH Kendry Morales has been red hot at the plate lately. In all started on July 30th, when Morales cracked a homer from each side of the plate in the same inning in a win over the Rangers. Since July 30th, Morales has played in 11 games in which he is 16 of 44 (.364 avg) with 10 runs scored, 6 homers and 12 RBIs. Morales has now played in 94 games for the Angels overall this year and he is 94 of 334 (.281 avg, .787 OPS) with 41 runs scored, 15 homers and 51 RBIs. It looks as if Morales has finally shaken off the rust after missing a year and a half due to a severely broken ankle.

37-year old righty swinging outfielder Torii Hunter has been really swinging a good bat lately for the Angels. He has played in 54 games since June 1st in which he is 65 of 206 (.316 avg) with 36 runs scored, 6 homers, 39 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Hunter has now played in 89 games overall this year for the Angels and he is 97 of 332 (.292 avg, .791 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 11 homers, 54 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. The Angels hope Hunter keeps up the good work the rest of this year.

32-year old righty swinging 1B Albert Pujols had a rough first two months while he was adjusting to a new league and a new team. But, since June 1st, he has been on fire with the bat. Pujols has played in 52 games since June 1st and he is 64 of 195 (.328 avg) with 37 runs scored, 14 homers, 43 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. He has now played in 103 games so far this year and he is 114 of 401 (.284 avg, .868 OPS) with 59 runs scored, 22 homers, 71 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. The Angels need Pujols to keep raking if they are going to pass up the Rangers in the A.L. West.