Listen, we know it's tough to catch up on everything happening in the baseball world each morning. There are all kinds of stories, rumors, game coverage and Vines of dudes getting hit in the beans every day. Trying to find all of it while on your way to work or sitting at your desk just isn't easy. It's OK, though, we're going to do the heavy lifting for you each morning, and find the things you need to see from within the SB Nation baseball network as well as from elsewhere. Please hold your applause until the end, or at least until after you subscribe to the newsletter.
Jonathan Moore/Getty Images
★★★
The Angels had a doubleheader against the Red Sox on Monday, and Albert Pujols took full advantage of the extra playing time. The Angels’ first baseman went deep three times, so in one day, he came within one home run of Mike Schmidt and 15th all-time on the home run list, tied Schmidt, then passed him. Not only did these three homers matter historically, but they also mean something in the present, as Pujols is now leading the majors in homers.
Yes, 35-year-old Albert Pujols passed teammate Mike Trout -- as well as ever-impressive phenom Bryce Harper -- to takeover MLB’s lead in homers. Pujols has 29, and is on pace for 52 should he play in the rest of the Angels’ games. That would be a career-high for Pujols, which is saying something for a guy who just moved into the top-15 all-time in the category, but it also wouldn’t be surprising given the way he’s swung the bat the last few months.
Pujols only hit three homers in April, and on May 17, his OPS was .686. In the 54 games since, he’s mashed to the tune of .278/.354/.649 with 23 homers, a pace over a full season of 69 dingers. All of a sudden, hitting 50 homers for the first time at his age doesn’t seem so improbable. With another 21 -- which would put him at 50 -- Pujols would pass Rafael Palmeiro for sole possession of 12th place all-time. Before that, though, he’ll need to wrest 14th from Manny Ramirez and his 555 bombs. Given how Pujols has been of late, we won’t have to wait long.
- Zack Greinke’s scoreless streak is at 43 2/3 innings, and he’s within realistic distance of Orel Hershisher’s record. It’ll take some luck to get there, as it’s taken some luck to get the streak to this point to begin with.
- Remember Bubba Starling? He was the Royals’ first-round pick in 2011 but he failed to develop much for years. Now he’s at Double-A, is still just 22 and is hitting.
- Is trading within your division any more of a problem than trading outside of it? Or, is it worth it to not trade inside your division?
- Chris Johnson wants to be traded from the Braves, which is convenient for them, as they’ve been open to that idea for a while now.
- The Pirates are interested in trading for Justin Upton, which would mean an outfield of Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte and Justin Upton could be a thing we could watch outside of an MLB All-Star Game.
- Mike Trout, Bryce Harper and Manny Machado are a special trio of young players, but how do they stack up historically?
- The Cardinals have promoted top prospect Stephen Piscotty to help them out at first base, even though he’s a corner outfielder.
- The Mariners are in last place in the AL West, so it’s time to sell, but only methodically.
- How long can the Giants keep trotting Angel Pagan out into center field?
- If the Red Sox buy at the deadline, it should be for cost-controlled assets, not rentals.
- Brandon Phillips, Professional Showoff. Hey, no judgment here, swag away, BP. Swag away.
See More:
