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Three years almost to the day after he was drafted, 2012 first overall pick Carlos Correa debuted for the Astros. It was wonderful timing for MLB's annual event that brings new talent into the game, as the 2015 iteration also kicked things off on Monday. However, Tuesday night was even more eventful for the 20-year-old Correa as he stole a base and hit his first big league dinger. On the same night a piece of baseball's future was going deep for the first time, veteran slugger and future MLB Hall of Famer Albert Pujols was busy making history in the present, as he tied Mickey Mantle on the all-time home run list with No. 536.
Correa’s shot came in a losing effort, but it did show why he’s in the majors. The Astros have wins in the bank already that have allowed them to stay in first place in the AL West, but they’ve also lost six games in a row and needed an injection of talent if they want to stay there. Correa should help them on offense and defense, and he might be the first convincing argument the Astros have for all that time they spent losing, too: you don’t get to pick first in the draft without a whole lot of failure.
Pujols is in a different place in his career -- Correa was 6 years old when Pujols debuted -- but his recent resurgence gives the Angels the same hope that Correa's arrival gives the Astros. Pujols is batting .301/.333/.625 with 13 homers since the start of May -- the Angels only have an 18-18 record during this stretch, but imagine how lost their season would be if Pujols wasn't showing off vintage pop the whole time? If he keeps at it, he'll push into the top-15 all-time before 2015 is over, as another Hall of Famer, Mike Schmidt, sits there with 548. Whether those long balls push the Angels to the postseason or just help them keep their heads above water remains to be seen.
- The Mets might call up their own cavalry soon, as pitching prospect Steven Matz could head to New York once they manage to trade Dillon Gee or Jon Niese.
- Matt Holliday was moved to the disabled list with a torn quad, but it's not expected to cost him the season like Matt Adams' quad did.
- The Mariners are making their fans feel helpless, which should be a familiar feeling, but wasn't supposed to be with this roster.
- Former prospect Jackie Bradley is finally mashing at Triple-A, but at this point it seems more likely he revitalizes his big league career with someone besides the Red Sox and their crowded outfield.
- These are the only first-round grades of the 2015 MLB Draft that you need.
- Rajai Davis robbed David Ross of a homer by scaling an 8-foot wall.
- This is the only way to correctly fill out a 2015 MLB All-Star Game ballot. And no, the answer is not "Vote for every Royals player."
- Chris Heston threw a no-hitter, so the Giants have now met their annual quota. Here are 50 awesome things about it. Grant Brisbee is just full of ideas, okay?
- Jake Arrieta has been dominant with the Cubs for parts of three seasons thanks to his curveball, and all after a failure to develop with the Orioles. Not to rub it in too much, but former O's pitching prospect Eduardo Rodriguez has also blossomed over the last 11 months in the Red Sox organization. He is now the first pitcher since at least 1912 to begin his career with three straight starts of at least six innings, one or fewer runs allowed, and at least seven strikeouts.
- Paul Goldschmidt has been great for some time now. He's been transcendent of late, though, so what changed?
- Hitters can't challenge Chris Sale, but they can wait for a mistake. Too bad he doesn't make many of those.
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