Albert Pujols is starting to heat up along with the weather. He played in 23 games in April for the Angels and he was only 20 for 92 (.217 avg, .570 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 0 homers and 4 RBIs. So far in May & June, Pujols has played in 40 games in which he is 46 for 158 (.291 avg) with 22 runs scored, 9 homers, 33 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Pujols has now played in 63 games for the Angels and he is 66 for 250 (.264 avg, .759 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 9 homers, 37 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. The Angels need Pujols to stay hot to help them catch the Rangers in the A.L. West.

36-year old righty swinging outfielder Torii Hunter has gotten hot so far in June. He has played in 11 games so far in June and he is 14 for 44 (.318 avg, 1.025 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 4 homers, 10 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Hunter has now played in 46 games for the Angels so far this year and he is 46 for 170 (.271 avg, .806 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 9 homers, 25 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The Angels have gotten hot right along with Hunter, so they need him to keep swinging a hot stick.

26-year old righty swinging 1B/3B/OF Mark Trumbo is a player without a position for the Angels this year, so he has been playing all over the diamond. He has played in 36 games for the Angels so far this year and he is 41 for 126 (.325 avg, .944 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 6 homers, 19 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Trumbo is tied for the team lead in homers with Vernon Wells and he is 2nd on the team in RBIs despite not playing every day. Trumbo has now played in 193 games in his first three years with the Angels and he is 179 for 680 (.263 avg, .789 OPS) with 82 runs scored, 35 homers, 108 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. It will be up to manager Mike Scioscia to keep finding ways to get Trumbo’s bat into the lineup.

26-year old righty swinging Mark Trumbo broke out for the Angels in 2011. He played in 149 games for the Angels last year and he was 137 of 539 (.254 avg, .768 OPS) with 65 runs scored, 29 homers, 87 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. He is a natural 1B, but he can’t play there with Albert Pujols locked in. So he tried to learn 3B in spring training, but that has not gone too well as he has made 3 errors in his first four games there. With Kendry Morales back at DH, it’s been really hard for manager Mike Scioscia to find ABs for him. That’s a shame because he’s raking at the plate so far this year. He has played in 10 games for he Angels so far this year and he is 10 for 30 (.333 avg, .978 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 2 homers, 6 RBIs and 1 stolen base. I think the Scioscia will find a way to get Trumbo ABs if he keeps hitting like he is right now.

The Angels spent a lot of money over the winter to secure free agents Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson, but the hottest newcomer has been catcher Chris Iannetta. The 29-year old righty swinger has played in 8 games so far this year and he is 8 for 23 (.348 avg, 1.162 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 2 homers and 7 RBIs. The Angels traded for Iannetta because the catching spot was a black hole offensively for them in 2011, but it looks like that isn’t going to be near the case in 2012.

25-year old righty swinging 1B Mark Trumbo got his first taste of the majors back in September of 2010 with the Angels. He played in 8 games for the Angels in 2010 and he was 1 for 15 (.067 avg, .192 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 0 homers and 2 RBIs. He also walked only 1 time while whiffing 8 times. So when Kendry Morales wasn’t ready to return this year from his ankle injury, the Angels decided to give Trumbo a look at 1B. He has taken the job and run with it. He has played in 149 games for the Angels so far this year and he is 137 for 539 (.254 avg, .768 OPS) with 65 runs scored, 29 homers, 87 RBIs an 9 stolen bases. Even if Morales comes back next year, Trumbo will be starting somewhere for the Angels.

24-year old righty swinging CF Peter Bourjos has had a solid year with the bat for the Angels in 2011. But the reason I like watching him play is because of his awesome range in CF defensively. You have to hit the ball over the fence if you don’t want Bourjos to catch it. He has played in 138 games for the Angels so far this year and he is 124 for 469 (.264 avg, .745 OPS) with 67 runs scored, 11 homers, 38 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. He has now played in 189 games in his first two years in the majors and he is 161 for 650 (.248 avg, .710 OPS) with 86 runs scored, 17 homers, 53 RBIs and 31 stolen bases. Bourjos looks like he’s going to be the Angels’ CF for a long, long time.

19-year old righty swinging outfielder Mike Trout got off to a rough start to his major league career. But, in his last 15 games, Trout is 13 of 44 (.295 avg) with 11 runs scored, 4 homers and 8 RBIs. Trout has now played in 30 games for the Angels so far this year and he is 22 for 92 (.239 avg, .760 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 5 homers, 15 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Angels need Trout to keep hitting when he’s in the lineup because they are right on the heels of the Rangers in the A.L. West.

35-year old righty swinging RF Torii Hunter has been red hot with the bat so far this month for the Angels. Hunter has played in 24 games so far in August and he is 34 for 87 (.391 avg, 1.074 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 5 homers and 16 RBIs. Hunter has played in 129 games for the Angels so far this year and he is 125 for 482 (.259 avg, .751 OPS) with 60 runs scored, 18 homers, 67 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. The Angels need Hunter to stay hot because they are in a dogfight for the A.L. West with the Rangers right now.

24-year old righty swinging CF Peter Bourjos has played in 112 games so far this year for the Angels and he is 103 for 370 (.278 avg, .768 OPS) with 51 runs scored, 6 homers, 27 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. Bourjos has amazing range in the field and great speed on the bases. He deserves a Gold Glove this year and I think he can steal 50 bases in a season down the road. He has now played in 163 games in his first two years with the Angels and he is 140 for 551 (.254 avg, .720 OPS) with 70 runs scored, 12 homers, 42 RBIs and 27 stolen bases. Bourjos is giving the Angels a nice glimpse of the future in 2011.