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Clips

(June 1, 2017)

June 1, 2017 Page 2 of 36

Today’s Clips Contents

FROM LOS ANGELES TIMES (Page 4)

Eric Young Jr. has big blast for Angels

Angels face devil of a time without Mike Trout in lineup

Angels' Mike Trout undergoes thumb surgery

FROM THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER (Page 8)

Eric Young emotional after home run propels Angels past Braves, 2-1 Angels Notes: Mike Trout undergoes successful surgery

FROM ANGELS.COM (Page 11)

EY honors late son with game-winning homer

Trout undergoes successful surgery on thumb

Mike Trout made sure to watch every Albert Pujols at-bat, just in case he hit his 600th

home run

Young Jr.'s homer wins it, but 600 eludes Pujols

Ex-Twin Meyer faces former club for first time

Trout leads all AL players in ASG vote update

FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (Page 17)

Eric Young Jr.'s first homer lead Angels to 2-1 win

Angels' Mike Trout has thumb surgery, expected to miss 6-8 weeks

LEADING OFF: Red Sox-O's rivalry; Pujols at 599; Kluber back

Column: As Pujols approaches 600 HRs, does anyone care?

FROM ESPN.COM (Page 23)

Still the god of WAR? Don't doubt Mike Trout

Albert Pujols chases 600th homer amid empty seats, questions

June 1, 2017 Page 3 of 36

FROM CBS SPORTS (Page 30)

If Trout-less Angels decide to sell, here's the five players they could trade away

FROM SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (Page 31)

Projecting career home run totals for 17 active sluggers, and why the 600 Club still

matters

FROM THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE (Page 35)

How do you replace Mike Trout?

June 1, 2017 Page 4 of 36

FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES

Eric Young Jr. has big blast for Angels

By Pedro Moura

Upon contact, Eric Young Jr. knew he had homered. And then his mind raced to his family, to his son,

Eric Young III, who died one day into his life in January, born too premature to survive. Young hopped

out of his batting stance and trotted around major league basepaths for the first time in three years.

When he returned to home plate, he found his family in his stands and held up three fingers on his left

hand, in honor of his son. They did the same back to him.

Young’s home run in the eighth inning supplied the difference in the Angels’ 2-1 victory over the Atlanta

Braves on Wednesday at Angel Stadium. In a television interview on the field after it ended, Young

began to cry as he discussed the tragic year that he, his wife Victoria, and their family have endured. His

grandmother also died earlier this year.

“Those were tears of joy,” he said later. “I’ve shed plenty of tears this year.”

Absent the injured Mike Trout, the Angels (28-28) do not have a lot going for them. For now, Albert

Pujols’ bid for 600 home runs is tiding over the team and its fans, and that will continue for at least

another night. He could not homer Wednesday, a night when a rather unlikely hero emerged.

“We don’t have our superstar in the lineup,” said Jesse Chavez, the Angels’ starting pitcher. “We have to

find a way to piece things together.”

In his third day with the team after taking Trout’s spot on the roster, Young excelled in the field, did not

make an out and smashed that improbable shot. Over parts of the last nine seasons, Young, 32, had

batted 1,695 times in the major leagues and produced only eight home runs. He had not homered since

May 12, 2014, many teams ago.

After he hit No. 599 in his second plate appearance Tuesday, Pujols came up empty in three chances. In

his first at-bat Wednesday, Pujols grounded to shortstop for an inning-ending double play. Pujols next

blooped a ball off of the end of his bat, deep enough into center field to make it unreachable to

Atlanta’s middle infielders, shallow enough to make it unreachable to center fielder Ender Inciarte.

Jogging out of the batter’s box, Pujols settled for a single, passing Babe Ruth on the all-time hit list. In his

sixth attempt at 600, Pujols grounded to third, and in his seventh he struck out swinging.

Against Chavez, Matt Kemp began the second with a solo shot to right field, his second homer in as

many nights. With one out, local product Rio Ruiz drove a ball deep to left field, and Young crashed into

the wall in pursuit. His cap was knocked askew, but he caught the ball, and Chavez tipped his cap in

response.

Chavez sped through the next four innings, continuing into the seventh, when Atlanta’s Tyler Flowers led

off with an infield single. Shortstop Andrelton Simmons fielded it but threw late to first base. Chavez

June 1, 2017 Page 5 of 36

struck out two of the next three men, got a groundout, and was out of it, done for the day. He required

92 pitches to finish his seven best innings of the season.

Right-hander Blake Parker entered for the eighth after the Angels tied the game in the bottom of the

seventh.

Their first run scored on an odd defensive sequence, similar to when they pushed nine runs across in

Tuesday’s third inning. With one out and men on first and second, Shane Robinson rapped a ball down

the third-base line. Ruiz fielded it, stepped on third base, ran into hard-sliding Martin Maldonado and

delivered an off-target throw to first, which allowed Danny Espinosa to score.

In the ninth, right-hander Bud Norris logged his 10th save. No Angel had managed to amass 10 saves

throughout 2016.

Angels face devil of a time without Mike Trout in lineup

By Mike DiGiovanna

The Angels thrived in the wake of a season-ending knee injury to Garrett Richards in 2014, going 21-7

over the next month without their ace and turning a half-game lead in the American League West on

Aug. 20 into a division-clinching 111/2- game bulge by Sept. 18.

So it was natural to use that as a rallying cry this week when star center fielder Mike Trout, considered

the best all-around player in baseball, suffered a torn left-thumb ligament that was surgically repaired

on Wednesday and will sideline him for six to eight weeks.

“When Garrett went down in 2014, that was a big blow to our pitching staff, but everyone pulled

together, and we finished up pretty strong,” right fielder Kole Calhoun said. “Not having Mike, things are

definitely stacked against us, but we have a lot of guys in here, and if we play together we can still be

pretty good.”

Not to say that won’t happen. The team has hovered around .500 despite losing its top two starting

pitchers (Richards and Andrew Heaney) and top three relievers (Cam Bedrosian, Huston

Street and Andrew Bailey) to injury.

But the loss of Trout will be much more difficult to overcome than the loss of Richards in 2014.

For starters, Richards pitched once every five days. Trout played every day, impacting games with his

bat, speed on the bases and stellar defense.

The Angels had four solid starters in 2014 in Jered Weaver, Matt Shoemaker, C.J. Wilson and Hector

Santiago, a deep bullpen headed by Street and Joe Smith, and a potent offense that eased the burden

on the pitching staff.

“To have Mike on the disabled list for the first time is kind of the unknown,” Calhoun said. “It’s definitely

tough. He’s best player in the game, so guys are gonna have to pick up the slack around here.”

June 1, 2017 Page 6 of 36

Manager Mike Scioscia compared Trout’s loss to that of slugger Vladimir Guerrero, who in 2009 missed

six weeks from mid-April to late-May because of a torn pectoral muscle, and a month from early July to

early August because of a hamstring strain.

The Angels never fell more than 51/2 games back during Guerrero’s first absence. They moved into first

place in late June and won the division with a 97-64 record.

“We had a very good year with a middle-of-the-order guy out for long stretches,” Scioscia said. “Mike’s

loss is not gonna be made up with production from one person, but collectively, one through nine. If

guys swing the bats to their capabilities, we can absorb the loss of Mike for the time he’s out.”

Guerrero, however, was 34 and near the end of his distinguished career in 2009. He was also

surrounded by productive hitters in a lineup that included Kendrys Morales, Bobby Abreu, Torii Hunter,

Howie Kendrick, Mike Napoli, Juan Rivera, Erick Aybar and Chone Figgins.

Trout is 25 and in his prime. He has won two AL most valuable player awards and was runner-up three

times. He is arguably having his best season, batting .337 with an AL-leading 1.203 on-base-plus-slugging

percentage. He ranks second with 16 homers and has 36 RBIs.

And he is surrounded by players who are struggling. Second baseman Danny Espinosa has been a huge

disappointment, batting .144 with 56 strikeouts entering Wednesday, and corner infielder Luis

Valbuena, expected to be a middle-of-the-order threat, is batting .176 in 26 games of an injury plagued

season.

The struggles of Calhoun, who hit .266 with a .763 OPS, 61 homers and 216 RBIs in his first three full

major league seasons (2014-2016), have been most surprising. He entered Wednesday with a .205

average, .601 OPS, five homers and 17 RBIs in 52 games.

“There’s a cliche about seeing the ball well, a lot of guys throw that around, but I think in Kole’s case,

there’s no doubt that he’s a little jumpy, he’s just trying too hard,” Scioscia said. “He definitely needs to

exhale and have things slow down in the batter’s box.”

The left-handed-hitting Calhoun normally hits left-handers well. He has a career .266 average and .761

OPS against right-handers and a .245 average and .713 OPS against left-handers. Those numbers are out

of whack this season — .233 with a .655 OPS against right-handers and .098 with a .391 OPS against

lefties.

“He’s working very hard on it,” Scioscia said. “This guy is such a gamer. He does anything for the team,

whether it’s diving for a ball in right field, pulling for guys, hitting first, second, sixth in lineup … for him

to struggle, there’s nobody who feels it more than he does.

“He’s too talented to stay down for a long time. He’ll find it. Right now, it’s a matter of slowing some

things down in the batter’s box, taking some of the things pitchers are giving him and trying to use the

whole field. If he does that, I think he’ll start to swing the bat to his capabilities.”

June 1, 2017 Page 7 of 36

Angels' Mike Trout undergoes thumb surgery

By Pedro Moura

Mike Trout underwent surgery Wednesday to repair tears in the ulnar collateral ligament and dorsal

capsule of his left thumb. The Angels said the operation, performed by Dr. Steven Shin at the Kerlan-

Jobe Orthopedic Clinic, was successful. They stuck to an estimated timeline of six to eight weeks for

Trout to return to action.

The Angels did not make Shin available for an interview, but general manager Billy Eppler confirmed the

doctor performed an innovative treatment on Trout, involving InternalBrace ligament

augmentation within the thumb. In limited usage, the procedure has been known to accelerate

recoveries.

“It’s a development that’s very new,” manager Mike Scioscia said. “It’s a development that

helped Andrelton Simmons come back in five weeks. I’m not exactly sure what it looks like or what it

does, but I know that it’s in there and it’ll hopefully give him a stronger repair and something that’ll hold

up a little longer.”

When the Angels announced the injury, they did not announce a dorsal capsule tear, but Scioscia said

that was planned as part of the surgery from the outset. The capsule is often linked to the UCL in tears.

“From getting the post-op report, there weren’t really any surprises,” Scioscia said.

Trout tore his thumb sliding head-first into second base Sunday in Miami. Initial X-rays were negative for

a break, but the tear was uncovered upon further testing Monday.

The 25-year-old center fielder was soaring through the best season of his career, leading the American

League with a .461 on-base percentage and .742 slugging percentage. He homered 16 times in 47

games.

“We’re gonna count the days,” Scioscia said of Trout’s recovery. “We’re excited that everything went

well, and we’ll hopefully get good news as he starts to work through his rehab, when he can pick up a

bat and all of that.”

Robinson recalled, Bridwell optioned, Wright designated

The Angels made a series of roster moves to add another outfielder while Cameron Maybin’s status

remains unclear. Maybin reported feeling pain in his side Tuesday and was due to test his capacity to

swing Wednesday evening. While Scioscia said he was “improving,” Maybin did not start for the second

consecutive game.

To play the outfield in his absence, the Angels recalled Shane Robinson from triple-A Salt Lake. Robinson

spent much of last season with the major league club. He hit .173 in 111 plate appearances. The 32-

year-old had previously demonstrated relative prowess hitting against left-handed pitchers. He started

Wednesday against Atlanta left-hander Jaime Garcia.

June 1, 2017 Page 8 of 36

Right-hander Parker Bridwell was optioned back to Salt Lake after joining the team Tuesday to make a

spot start. Right-hander Daniel Wright was designated for assignment to create space for Robinson on

the 40-man roster.

Short hops

Left-hander Tyler Skaggs said he is targeting a June 29 return against the Dodgers, which happens to be

the day he is eligible to be activated from the 60-day disabled list. He suffered an oblique strain at April’s

end and has been throwing from 90 feet. … Right-hander Cam Bedrosian (groin strain) will make two

rehab assignment appearances for Class-A Inland Empire over the weekend and could be activated next

week. … Trout leads the AL in All-Star voting. Albert Pujols was fifth among AL designated hitters in the

updated MLB released Wednesday.

FROM THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Eric Young emotional after home run propels Angels past Braves, 2-1

By Jeff Fletcher

ANAHEIM — While Albert Pujols remained at 599 homers, Eric Young Jr. belted No. 9.

But Pujols had never hit one quite like this.

Young, a veteran utilityman, belted an eighth-inning homer that unleashed months of emotions for a

player who has been mourning the loss of his infant son since January.

After the Angels’ 2-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves, Young broke down in tears during a postgame

interview on the field. A little later, in the clubhouse, he was still soaking it in.

“Those were tears of joy,” Young said. “I know I’ve shed plenty of tears this year. This was a special

moment for my family. It’s difficult, but you can’t quit. It’s easy to bury yourself and go hide in a hole. I try

to turn it into a positive and be an inspiration to others.”

Moments like this remind everyone that things like the pursuit of a round number of homers, or the loss

for two months of a team’s best player, are superficial, at best.

For Young, being able to play baseball provided an outlet for him after a nightmarish year. His son, Eric

Young III, was born three months prematurely, and died after just one night. Young also lost his

grandmother around the same time.

He then arrived at Angels camp just a few weeks later, pushing for a spot in the big leagues, trying to

revive a career that had stalled. He barely played in the majors in the past two years.

His last full season, 2014, also happened to be the last time that he hit a homer. Back on May 12, 2014,

when Young hit career homer No. 8, Pujols was sitting on 502.

June 1, 2017 Page 9 of 36

Much has changed with both players since then. Their paths crossed again in the big leagues this week,

with Young getting the call to replace Mike Trout on the roster after he tore a ligament in his thumb.

Since Young has been up, he’s been something of a spark plug on the bases and at the plate. He also made

a nice leaping catch at the fence in the second inning.

“He’s got a great tool set,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “He’s a tough little out, and he showed you he can

put a charge into a fastball tonight. Anytime a player perseveres like E.Y. does and gets an opportunity, it’s

great to see them achieve. He gave us a big lift tonight.”

Stepping up against Arodys Vizcaino in the eighth inning of a 1-1 game, Young belted a fastball over the

right field wall. He immediately thought of his family members, who were watching from the stands. He

flashed them three fingers, representing Eric Young III.

Not long after that emotional scene, Pujols came to the plate for the fourth time, still looking for his

milestone. He struck out, completing a night in which he had managed just one single, although that single

was good enough to move him past a guy named Babe Ruth, into 44th place on the all-time hits list.

It wasn’t what the crowd of 35,795 had hoped to see. Pujols remains one swing away from becoming the

ninth player to join the 600-homer club.

Pujols came up empty, as did most of the Angels. Their patchwork lineup didn’t even manage to get a

runner into scoring position until the fifth. They also hit into three double plays.

They finally scored a run because Martin Maldonado broke up a possible double play — at third. Shane

Robinson’s grounder was fielded by third baseman Rio Ruiz, and Maldonado slid into him as he was trying

to throw to first to complete the double play. The throw was wild, and Danny Espinosa scored all the way

from first on the play.

That got back the only run that Chavez had allowed in his seven innings. He gave up a homer to Matt Kemp

in the second, and then nothing else.

It was a nice bounceback for Chavez, who was knocked out in the fourth inning of his last start, having

allowed five runs on eight hits (two homers). He said he went in and watched some video immediately

afterward, and he diagnosed the issue with his delivery.

“I was leaving some balls over the plate,” he said. “For me to miss balls over the middle of the plate by so

much over the last two starts was really head scratching. We hammered it out in the bullpen. Today was a

good step.”

Angels Notes: Mike Trout undergoes successful surgery

By Jeff Fletcher

ANAHEIM — The Angels moved a significant step closer to getting Mike Trout back, although it might be

no sooner than expected.

June 1, 2017 Page 10 of 36

Trout on Wednesday underwent successful surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament and dorsal

capsule of his left thumb, the Angels announced.

The timeline for return is still six to eight weeks, they said.

“We’re going to count the days,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “We’re excited that everything went well.

Hopefully we’ll continue to get good news when he can pick up a bat and all the milestones that go along

with that.”

ADVERTISING

Scioscia said the technique used on Trout was similar to the procedure that Andrelton Simmons

underwent after he was hurt last May. Both operations were performed by Dr. Steven Shin.

Simmons made it back in just five weeks last year. Although the Angels would certainly hope Trout can

have the same speedy recovery, they have not adjusted the official projected timeline.

COMING BACK

Relievers Huston Street (strained lat) and Cam Bedrosian (strained groin) are both scheduled to pitch in the

next few days for Class-A Inland Empire, in advance of returning within the next week.

Street is scheduled for one four-out game in the next few days. Bedrosian said he is scheduled to pitch on

Friday and Sunday.

Both could be back by the time the Angels open a series in Detroit next Tuesday.

“We’ll see how it goes, but we hope so,” Scioscia said.

The Angels currently have just two relievers who can be optioned, Mike Morin and Keynan Middleton.

The Angels are also scheduled to activate Alex Meyer (back spasms) from the disabled list to start on

Thursday against the Minnesota Twins.

Third baseman Yunel Escobar (strained hamstring) was scheduled to play for Inland Empire on Wednesday

night, and he also could be activated as soon as Thursday.

ALSO

Cameron Maybin, who has been out since Monday because of tightness in his side, is “improving,” Scioscia

said. He was to do some hitting before Wednesday’s game to determine how close he is to returning to

the lineup. …

With Maybin unavailable to start on Wednesday, the Angels recalled Shane Robinson for the first time this

season. He started in center field. The Angels may have wanted an extra right-handed hitting outfielder

because they are facing lefties two games in a row. …

Daniel Wright was designated for assignment to create a spot on the 40-man roster for Robinson. …

June 1, 2017 Page 11 of 36

Tyler Skaggs (strained oblique) said he is throwing at a distance of 90 feet all week. He has to get out 150

feet before he can begin to throw from the mound. He said he’s optimistic he can be ready about the time

he’s eligible to come off the 60-day disabled list, at the end of June. …

Doug Fister is scheduled to pitch in his first game in extended spring training on Thursday. The Angels

signed the veteran big leaguer, who is expected to throw four innings, to a non-guaranteed deal earlier

this month. He will eventually move to Triple-A to continue preparing to join the Angels. His contract calls

for him to be in the majors or released by June 21.

FROM ANGELS.COM

EY honors late son with game-winning homer

Angels utility man has persevered after infant's death in January

By Maria Guardado / MLB.com

ANAHEIM -- As soon as Eric Young Jr. made contact with the ball and sent it flying toward the right-field

bleachers for his first home run in three years, the veteran utility man thought of his family.

It has been a trying year for Young, whose baby son, Eric Young III, died in January after being born 11

weeks premature. The tragic loss added special meaning to Young's go-ahead homer, which snapped a

1-1 tie in the eighth inning and lifted the Angels to a 2-1 victory over the Braves in Wednesday night's

series finale at Angel Stadium.

As he trotted around the bases, Young held up three fingers in a nod to his late son and pointed to the

family section after crossing home plate. After the game ended, he broke down into tears while

discussing the emotional event in an on-field interview with Fox Sports West reporter Alex Curry.

"Just a special moment, not only for myself, but for my family," Young said. "The majority know already

the adversity we've had off the field with my son. … I had an emotional message out there, but those

were tears of joy. I know I shed plenty of tears this year, and it was just a special moment."

Young, 32, signed a Minor League deal with the Angels over the offseason and opened the season at

Triple-A Salt Lake, but he was called up on Monday after Mike Trout landed on the disabled list with a

UCL tear in his left thumb. He has made the most of his opportunity, batting .455 (5-for-11) with a home

run, a double and two stolen bases in three games since his promotion.

On Wednesday, Young reached base three times and also made a nice running grab on a fly ball to left

field from Rio Ruiz in the second. But his biggest contribution came in the eighth, when he crushed the

game-winning homer off Braves reliever Arodys Vizcaino. It was his first home run in the Majors since

May 12, 2014, when he was with the Mets.

June 1, 2017 Page 12 of 36

"EY, he's a good player, and he's got some Major League experience," Angels manager Mike Scioscia

said. "He's had a tough couple years of trying to get back and hook on and stay in the big leagues, but

he's got a great tool set.

"You see the speed, you see the defense. He does a good job out there in whatever position you have

him on. And at the plate, he's a tough little out. He showed he can put a charge into a fastball tonight.

Any time a player perseveres like EY does and they get an opportunity, it's great to see them achieve. He

gave us a big lift tonight."

Rather than allow himself to drown in sorrow, Young said he has been open about his grief in the hope

that he can help others who are also enduring difficult situations. He credited his teammates in Salt Lake

and Anaheim for picking him up amid a difficult year.

"You can't quit," Young said. "It's an easy situation to bury yourself. You can hide in a hole, but just try to

turn to a positive and be an inspiration to others. Not to give up, not to quit on yourself or your family

and go out there and give it everything you've got. I think a lot of things were put in perspective for me.

"Regardless of what level I'm playing on, I'm blessed to play this game. Wherever they ask me to go play,

I'm going to put a uniform on and I'm going to go out there and give it everything I've got and stay in the

moment and enjoy the moment."

Trout undergoes successful surgery on thumb

Angels hopeful innovative method can help star return sooner

By Maria Guardado / MLB.com

ANAHEIM -- Angels star Mike Trout underwent successful surgery on Wednesday to repair the torn ulnar

collateral ligament and dorsal capsule in his left thumb. The procedure was performed by Dr. Steven

Shin in Los Angeles.

"The surgery went well, so now we're in rehab phase," manager Mike Scioscia said. "We're going to

count the days. We're excited that everything went well, and hopefully we'll continue to get good news

as he starts to work through his rehab."

Trout, the reigning American League MVP, is projected to miss six to eight weeks, dealing a major blow

to the Angels' hopes of contending for a playoff spot this season. There is a chance that Trout could

recover from the injury faster than expected, however, as his surgery used a method called the internal

brace, a medical innovation that helped shortstop Andrelton Simmons return from a similar injury in five

weeks last year.

"It's a development that is very new," Scioscia said. "I'm not exactly sure what it looks like and what it

does, but I know that it's in there and it will hopefully get a stronger repair and something that will hold

up a little longer."

June 1, 2017 Page 13 of 36

Simmons, who suffered a full tear of the UCL in his left thumb last May, was also given an initial six-to-

eight-week timetable, but he recently said the brace allowed him to begin rehab two days after surgery

and ultimately helped him beat his prognosis.

"During the rehab, there's that extra support," Simmons explained. "Even though the ligament is not

completely healed, you can start getting movement and getting the swelling out. You'll get that process

before you sit and wait for the ligament to be attached completely. I was like one step ahead. I was

already moving somewhat, and by the time it was pretty much healed up and the swelling went down

enough, I was pretty much good to do a lot of baseball activities. It was still sore in the beginning, but it

was still quicker than a lot of people would think."

Worth noting

• Outfielder Cameron Maybin was out of the lineup for a second straight game with tightness in his side,

though Scioscia said he was "improving."

"He's going to get his treatment and see if he can swing today," Scioscia said. "Then we'll evaluate him

and see if he's available."

With Trout on the disabled list and Maybin ailing, the Angels called up outfielder Shane Robinson from

Triple-A Salt Lake and optioned right-hander Parker Bridwell, who started Tuesday's 6-3 win over the

Braves. Robinson started in center field in Wednesday's series finale against Atlanta. To clear space for

Robinson on the 40-man roster, the Halos designated right-hander Daniel Wright for assignment.

• Right-hander Cam Bedrosian (right groin strain) said he expects to pitch in rehab games with Class A

Advanced Inland Empire on Friday and Sunday. He'll be evaluated after that, but it's possible the Angels

could activate the 25-year-old reliever before the start of their three-game series against the Tigers on

Tuesday.

• Third baseman Yunel Escobar (left hamstring strain) is slated to begin a rehab assignment with Inland

Empire on Wednesday.

Mike Trout made sure to watch every Albert Pujols at-bat, just in case he hit his 600th home

run

By Eric Chesterton

After Angels first baseman Albert Pujols hit his 599th career home run Tuesday, he

entered Wednesday's 2-1 win over the Braves looking to become the ninth player of all time to hit 600

home runs.

Despite undergoing surgery earlier in the day to repair the injury to his thumb, Angels center fielder and

two-time American League MVP Mike Trout didn't want to miss an opportunity to witness history. He

didn't maintain a presence in the team dugout for the entire game Wednesday night, but he didn't miss

a single Pujols plate appearance, including his final trip to the plate in the eighth inning.

June 1, 2017 Page 14 of 36

Unfortunately, Trout did not get to see Pujols join the 600 home run club Wednesday as the slugger

went 1-for-4 without a home run in the game.

The Angels host the Twins for four games beginning Thursday night before hitting the road to face the

Tigers and Astros next week, so Pujols -- and Trout -- will have a few more chances at least.

Young Jr.'s homer wins it, but 600 eludes Pujols

By Maria Guardado and Kaelen Jones / MLB.com

ANAHEIM -- Eric Young Jr. launched a go-ahead homer off Arodys Vizcaino in the eighth inning to lift the

Angels to a 2-1 win on Wednesday night, clinching a series victory over the Braves at Angel Stadium.

With the game tied at 1, Young blasted a 2-1 fastball to right-center field for his first home run of the

season. Young, who was called up from Triple-A Salt Lake on Monday after Mike Trout was placed on

the disabled list, had not homered in the Majors since May 12, 2014, when he was with the Mets. Young

is batting .455 (5-for-11) with a homer, a double and two stolen bases since his call-up.

"At the plate, he's a tough little out," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "He showed he can put a

charge into a fastball tonight. Any time a player perseveres like EY does and they get an opportunity, it's

great to see them achieve. He gave us a big lift tonight."

Matt Kemp's one-out single off closer Bud Norris put the tying run on first for the Braves in the ninth,

but Norris induced a groundout from Tyler Flowers and struck out Rio Ruiz swinging to earn his 10th of

save the year.

Angels slugger Albert Pujols, who entered Wednesday with 599 career home runs, is still searching for

No. 600, as he finished 1-for-4 with a bloop single to center field in the fourth. With his 2,874th career

hit, Pujols moved past Babe Ruth to take sole possession of 44th place on the all-time list.

Both clubs were kept quiet for much of the night, as Braves left-hander Jaime Garcia and Angels right-

hander Jesse Chavez engaged in a classic pitchers' duel through seven innings. Garcia allowed one

unearned run on five hits while walking three and striking out two, while Chavez yielded one run on five

hits while walking one and striking out four. Both pitchers came away with no-decisions.

It was a bounceback outing for Chavez, who allowed five runs and lasted only 3 2/3 innings in his last

start against the Marlins on Friday. The 33-year-old veteran said he studied video of his rocky start in

Miami and made a series of minor adjustments, including altering his foot placement on the rubber, that

he believed helped him get back on track on Wednesday.

"For me to miss spots that bad the last few starts up until today was really head-scratching, because

that's normally not me," Chavez said. "I'm normally able to make that adjustment in between pitches

and things like that. But we hammered out this last bullpen about placement and direction. Today was a

good step."

June 1, 2017 Page 15 of 36

Garcia's performance saw his run of scoreless innings finally come to an end after 18 2/3 frames, but

Atlanta manager Brian Snitker thought the outing "was really good" despite the final outcome.

"[That's] what I'd expect out of him," he said. "Just been more consistent and throwing the ball really

well."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

Kemp goes deep: Kemp led off the second with his 10th homer of the season, putting the Braves ahead,

1-0. Kemp went ahead in the count, 2-0, before hammering a 92 mph fastball from Chavez to right field.

The blast had an exit velocity of 105 mph and traveled a projected 396 feet, according to Statcast™. It

was Kemp's second homer in as many games. More >

Angels tie it on Ruiz's error: After being shut out by Garcia over the first six innings, the Angels finally

got on the board in the seventh with the help of a defensive miscue by third baseman Ruiz. With runners

on first and second and one out, Shane Robinson bounced a grounder to Ruiz, who stepped on third for

the forceout, but then uncorked a throw that skipped past first baseman Jace Peterson, allowing Danny

Espinosa to score the tying run from first. Robinson advanced to third on the play, but Garcia coaxed a

groundout from Cliff Pennington to end the inning, preserving the 1-1 tie.

UPON FURTHER REVIEW

Atlanta contested that Martin Maldonado's slide interfered with Ruiz while fielding Robinson's one-out

grounder to third base during the bottom of the seventh. Maldonado slid through the bag, and Ruiz

made an errant throw to first base, allowing Espinosa to score from second and tie the game at 1 with

two outs. The play was confirmed following review.

HAVE A SEAT

Snitker was tossed by first-base umpire Ted Barrett in the fifth inning for arguing a balk called against

Garcia with two outs. It was Snitker's fourth career ejection and his first of the 2017 season.

WHAT'S NEXT

Braves: Atlanta will begin the final series of its nine-game road trip when it visits the Reds. Right-

hander Mike Foltynewicz (3-5, 4.44 ERA) will take the mound, seeking to bounce back from his latest

outing against the Giants, in which he allowed five runs on seven hits, including two home runs, and a

walk in four innings. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET.

Angels: The Angels will host the Twins on Thursday for the first of a four-game series at 7:07 p.m. PT at

Angel Stadium. Right-hander Alex Meyer (2-2, 5.79 ERA) will take the mound and return to the rotation

after missing one start with back spasms. The Angels acquired Meyer and Ricky Nolasco from Minnesota

as part of the Hector Santiago trade last summer.

June 1, 2017 Page 16 of 36

Ex-Twin Meyer faces former club for first time

By Shane Jackson / MLB.com

The Twins will see a familiar face in the opener of a four-game series Thursday against the Angels, as

former Minnesota righty Alex Meyer will oppose lefty Adalberto Mejia at Angel Stadium.

Meyer (2-2, 5.79 ERA) is slated to start against his former team for the first time. Meyer was involved

with a trade last summer that sent Hector Santiago to Minnesota. He has allowed three earned runs or

fewer over his past three outings, though he missed one start while dealing with back spasms last week.

He is sporting a 2-2 record with a 5.95 ERA this month, but six of the 13 earned runs occurred in one

game.

The Twins will counter with Mejia (1-1, 4.64 ERA), who will be making his sixth start. He has made two

starts since being recalled from Triple-A Rochester after a demotion in late April. Since rejoining the big

league club, Mejia has allowed five runs runs on 11 hits across 12 innings. He has whiffed nine and

walked four, while also notching his first Major League victory.

Three things to know about this game

• Meyer made four appearances (one start) for the Twins between 2015-16. He allowed 10 runs over 6

1/3 innings with his former club.

• Miguel Sano was a late scratch from the lineup Tuesday and then did not play in Wednesday's finale

against Houston due to an illness.

• Despite an MLB-high 103 losses last year, the Twins boasted a winning percentage against the Angels

with a 4-2 record. Minnesota only had a winning record against three opponents that it faced at least

four times last year.

Trout leads all AL players in ASG vote update

Injured outfielder off to scalding start; Pujols ranks 5th among DHs

By Maria Guardado / MLB.com

ANAHEIM -- Before suffering a torn UCL in his left thumb on Sunday, Angels star Mike Trout was off to

the best start of his career, an achievement that was recognized when the first Esurance MLB All-Star

Game Ballot updates for the American League were released on Wednesday.

Trout led all AL players on the ballot with 776,937 votes, putting him in line to earn his sixth consecutive

All-Star nod. Still, the 25-year-old center fielder is not expected to appear in the 2017 All-Star Game

presented by MasterCard on July 11 at Marlins Park, as he will undergo thumb surgery on Wednesday

and is projected to miss six to eight weeks.

June 1, 2017 Page 17 of 36

Prior to the injury, Trout was batting .337 with a 1.203 OPS, 16 home runs, 36 RBIs and 10 stolen bases

this season.

The only other Angel to crack the top five at any position is Albert Pujols, who ranks fifth among AL

designated hitters with 154,626 votes. Pujols trails the Mariners' Nelson Cruz (457,050), the

Indians' Edwin Encarnacion (282,837), the Yankees' Matt Holliday (276,855) and the Rays' Corey

Dickerson (216,350).

Pujols, 37, is hitting .254 with a .717 OPS, eight homers and 38 RBIs in 2017. He launched his 599th

career home run against the Braves on Tuesday night, leaving him one shy of 600.

Fans may cast votes for starters at MLB.com and all 30 club sites -- on computers, tablets and

smartphones -- exclusively online using the 2017 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot until Thursday, June

29, at 8:59 p.m. PT. On smartphones and tablets, fans can also access the ballot via the MLB.com At Bat

and MLB.com Ballpark mobile apps. Vote up to five times in any 24-hour period for a maximum of 35

ballots cast.

Following the announcement of the 2017 All-Star starters, reserves and pitchers, fans should return to

MLB.com and cast their 2017 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote for the final player on each

league's All-Star roster. Then on Tuesday, July 11, while watching the 2017 All-Star Game presented by

MasterCard live on FOX, fans may visit MLB.com to submit their choices for the Ted Williams Most

Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet with the 2017 MLB All-Star Game MVP Vote.

The 88th Midsummer Classic, at Marlins Park in Miami, will be televised nationally by FOX Sports; in

Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS; and worldwide by partners in more than 160 countries. ESPN

Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide exclusive national radio coverage, while MLB Network,

MLB.com and SiriusXM will have comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information about

MLB All-Star Week and to purchase tickets, please visit AllStarGame.com and follow @AllStarGame on

social media.

FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Eric Young Jr.'s first homer lead Angels to 2-1 win

Associated Press

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- While most of the attention was focused on Albert Pujols and his pursuit of home run

No. 600, it was a long ball from an unexpected source that gave the Angels a victory Wednesday night.

Eric Young Jr. hit his first major league homer since 2014 and made it a timely one, connecting for a

tiebreaking solo shot in the eighth inning that lifted the Los Angeles Angels to a 2-1 win over the Atlanta

Braves.

The 32-year-old Young has spent most of the past three seasons trying to return to the majors.

June 1, 2017 Page 18 of 36

"You enjoy the moment and whatever happens, happens," Young said. "I'm really sticking by that, and

trying not to think about everything too much, just go with the flow."

Pujols, meanwhile, remained at 599 career home runs. He had a single in four at-bats.

The Braves opened the scoring in the second when Matt Kemp homered. For Kemp, it was No. 10 on the

season and No. 250 for his career. It was also his 40th hit in May.

"Matt's a really good hitter," Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. "His bat stays in the zone so long, he

hits everybody."

It remained a 1-0 game into the bottom of the seventh, when the Angels tied it with an odd offensive

inning. After two infield singles, the Angels had runners on first and second when Shane Robinson hit a

chopper to third baseman Rio Ruiz.

Ruiz stepped on the bag for the force just ahead of a hard slide by Martin Maldonado, who clipped the

feet of Ruiz. That delayed his throw to first enough that he had to hurry it, throwing the ball past first

baseman Jace Peterson for an error that allowed Danny Espinosa to score from first.

"He did a good job of getting out of the way," Snitker said. "He just didn't make the throw."

Jaime Garcia went seven innings for the Braves, allowing one unearned run, five hits and three walks. He

has allowed only one earned run in 21 2/3 innings during his last three starts.

"He did a great job for the third game in a row," Snitker said. "If he loses a hitter, he gets a double-play

ball."

Jesse Chavez pitched seven innings for the Angels, giving up one run, five hits and a walk while striking

out four.

Young, called up Monday to replace injured star Mike Trout, homered off reliever Arodys Vizcaino (1-1),

who had made 12 consecutive scoreless appearances.

"Any time a player perseveres like E.Y. does and they get an opportunity, it's great to see him achieve,"

Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "And he gave us a big lift tonight."

Blake Parker (1-2) picked up the win with a scoreless inning of relief. Bud Norris got two outs for his 10th

save.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Braves: 1B Matt Adams was out of the lineup a sore left knee. Snitker said it happened sometime during

Tuesday's game and Adams woke Wednesday with knee soreness. He is only expected to miss one

game. ... 2B Brandon Phillips returned to the lineup after missing two games with a bruised right knee.

Angels: Trout had surgery on his left thumb and is still expected to miss six to eight weeks. ...

OF Cameron Maybin was out of the lineup for a second consecutive night with tightness in his side.

June 1, 2017 Page 19 of 36

SNITKER EJECTED

Atlanta's manager was tossed in the fifth for arguing a balk call against Garcia by first base umpire Ted

Barrett. Said Snitker: "He picked off a guy and had three other moves (to first) that weren't balks. And

then all of a sudden it's a balk. He didn't do anything different, so why are you balking him now?"

UP NEXT

Braves: After a day off, RHP Mike Foltynewicz is scheduled to start Friday in Cincinnati. Foltynewicz has

had an uneven season for the Braves, going 3-2 in his last five starts despite a 6.12 ERA.

Angels: RHP Alex Meyer is expected to be activated from the 10-day DL to start the opener of a four-

game series against the Twins. Meyer is 2-2 with a 5.79 ERA in five starts. He has been on the DL since

May 21 with back spasms.

Angels' Mike Trout has thumb surgery, expected to miss 6-8 weeks

Associated Press

ANAHEIM, California -- Mike Trout had successful surgery on his injured left thumb Wednesday, and

the Los Angeles Angels slugger is likely to be out for at least six weeks.

Dr. Steve Shin performed surgery on Trout's ulnar collateral ligament and dorsal capsule, the Angels

said. The typical recovery time for the procedure is six to eight weeks.

Trout injured his hand while sliding headfirst into second base in Miami on Sunday, and is going on the

disabled list for the first time in his career.

The two-time AL MVP is off to another spectacular start to the season, batting .337 with 16 homers, 36

RBIs and a 1.203 OPS. He leads the AL in on-base percentage (.461), slugging percentage (.742), extra-

base hits (32) and walks (36).

Angels manager Mike Scioscia and the Angels seem hopeful of a relatively quick recovery for Trout from

an injury that can vary widely in its severity. Shortstop Andrelton Simmons had a similar surgery and

returned in five weeks last season.

The Angels acknowledge the enormous task they face in replacing Trout's contributions to their offense

for at least another month. Despite Trout's outsized numbers, Los Angeles began Wednesday with the

AL's second-worst batting average (.237) and slugging percentage (.380).

"I think it's magnified right now, because you look at our lineup, and Mike was really adding so much

because so many guys have struggled,'' Scioscia said. "Mike's loss is not going to be made up with

production from one person. But collectively, one through nine, if we get guys to swing the bats to their

capabilities, we can absorb the loss of Mike, hopefully, for the time he's out, and move forward.''

June 1, 2017 Page 20 of 36

The Halos earned their first victory since Trout's injury Tuesday night, putting together a nine-run rally in

the third inning of a 9-3 victory over Atlanta. Albert Pujols drove in the first runs in that rally with a

three-run homer, the 599th of his career.

While the Angels attempt to stay afloat this summer without their centerpiece, Scioscia said he

expected to rely on Pujols in particular. The 37-year-old designated hitter has driven in 38 runs in 47

games this season, and he homered in each of Los Angeles' first two games without Trout.

"There's one thing about Albert: Seems like when other guys are either slumping or injured, he takes it

on and does not want to be out of the lineup,'' Scioscia said. "If he had a scheduled day off and

something happened, he comes in and says, 'Hey, I'm playing. I'm going to play. I feel good.' I think he

does feel a responsibility to be out there, because he knows how important he is to the team, especially

when a guy like Mike is out, and maybe some other guys aren't swinging the bats to their capabilities.''

LEADING OFF: Red Sox-O's rivalry; Pujols at 599; Kluber back

Associated Press

A look at what's happening all around the majors today:

RIVALRY RENEWED

The Red Sox visit Baltimore for a four-game series that runs through Sunday. The contentious rivalry

between AL East foes ramped up this season when Manny Machado's aggressive slide into Boston

second baseman Dustin Pedroia in late April led to dangerous inside pitches, harsh words and a warning

from MLB officials to stop the feuding. At the center of the storm was Machado, currently in a terrible

slump.

PRIMED FOR POWER

Angels slugger Albert Pujols gets his next shot at home run No. 600 when the Twins arrive in Anaheim.

Pujols had a single in four at-bats Wednesday night against Atlanta, remaining at 599 homers. Rookie

left-hander Adalberto Mejia (1-1, 4.64 ERA) makes his sixth major league start for a struggling

Minnesota pitching staff that just gave up 40 runs in a three-game sweep by Houston. The Twins, who

have lost four straight, served up six homers Wednesday to the streaking Astros.

SIGHT FOR SORE EYES

Cleveland ace Corey Kluber comes off the disabled list to make his first start since May 2 when the

Indians host Oakland. Kluber, who has been sidelined with a strained lower back, is 3-2 with a 5.06 ERA.

His return will be a welcome addition for a rotation that entered Wednesday with the highest ERA in the

American League. He replaces right-hander Danny Salazar, sent to the bullpen with a 3-5 record and

5.50 ERA. Kluber was 18-9 with a 3.14 ERA last season and went 4-1 with a 1.83 ERA in six postseason

starts. He won the AL Cy Young Award in 2014 and finished third in the voting last season.

HOMER HAPPY

June 1, 2017 Page 21 of 36

After winning eight of their final nine games in May, the Blue Jays welcome the AL East-leading Yankees

for the opener of a four-game set. "It would be nice to continue playing well right now," Toronto

manager John Gibbons said. "The timing would be perfect." Toronto was 8-17 in April, but bounced back

to finish May at 26-27 thanks to a barrage of home runs, 49 in all. "In the American League, especially in

our division, you've got to hit home runs," Gibbons said. "That's the key." Marco Estrada (4-2, 3.15 ERA)

starts the first game against CC Sabathia (5-2, 4.42 ERA), seeking his 16th career win versus Toronto.

FISH STICKS

Miami has won four straight, its longest winning streak since last July, heading into a four-game series

against visiting Arizona. Left-hander Jeff Locke makes his season debut in the opener vs. Diamondbacks

ace Zack Greinke (6-3, 3.24 ERA). Locke has been on the DL with left biceps tendinitis. After a difficult

stretch when they went 4-19, the Marlins are winning with offense, scoring 73 runs in the past 10

games. Their latest victory Wednesday over Philadelphia came without slugger Giancarlo Stanton, who

rested while recovering from hamstring cramps. He's expected to return to the lineup against Arizona.

"We're playing better," Miami manager Don Mattingly said. "Hopefully our best baseball is ahead of us."

Justin Bour hit 11 home runs for the Marlins in May.

ON A ROLL

Cardinals veteran Adam Wainwright (5-3, 4.20 ERA) pitches against Brandon McCarthy (5-1, 3.28) and

the Los Angeles Dodgers. Wainwright is 5-0 with a 3.21 ERA since his last loss on April 16.

COMING OFF A GEM

Chase Anderson (3-1) starts for the NL Central-leading Brewers in the finale of a four-game series at the

New York Mets. Anderson had a no-hit bid going last Saturday until Nick Ahmed's leadoff single in the

eighth at Arizona. He set career highs with 11 strikeouts and 114 pitches in seven-plus innings during a

6-1 win. Zack Wheeler (3-2) goes for the Mets.

Column: As Pujols approaches 600 HRs, does anyone care?

Associated Press

More than any other sport, baseball is a numbers racket.

From 20 wins in a season to 3,000 hits in a career, there are milestones that even the most cursory fan

knows are cause for celebration and adoration.

Regrettably, the stat we used to revere above all others no longer gets us in the mood for keeping

count.

Home runs.

Albert Pujols is one of the great sluggers in major league history, but his pursuit of 600 homers with the

Los Angeles Angels has gone largely unnoticed in recent weeks. Sure, there's a big countdown sign in

June 1, 2017 Page 22 of 36

center field at the Big A, currently sitting on 599, and many fans broke out their cellphones each time he

came to bat Wednesday night in a 2-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves, ready to document history.

That's about it.

For a reason.

Thanks to the steroids era, guys who can knock the ball over the fence with some regularity are no

longer held in such lofty esteem. We treat this generation's version of Hammerin' Hank and the Sultan

of Swat with a collective shrug and a healthy dose of skepticism, even though the game today is

dominated by hard-throwing pitchers and could actually use an offensive boost.

No one, it seems, has forgotten when juiced-up guys made a mockery of the game.

So, when Pujols hits No. 600, there will be a small celebration.

Not much more.

That's a shame, really.

"It's incredible, I think, just to put it in the context," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "The guys that

hit 300 home runs, that's like 10 years of hitting 30 home runs. And to double that, it just defines ... the

elite players that have been in the batter's box throughout this game."

Indeed, Pujols will become just the ninth player in major league history to reach 600 homers and, in all

likelihood, be a first-ballot inductee into Cooperstown.

But it's worth noting that Pujols will be the sixth member of that exclusive club whose career touched on

the steroid era, which runs roughly through the 1990s until the mid-2000s when baseball finally adopted

a doping policy that had a little bite to it (though still not nearly enough).

Of the other five, only Ken Griffey Jr. is in the Hall of Fame. The career leader, Barry Bonds with 762, has

yet to be voted in because of his links to doping scandals, though the ill feelings against his candidacy

seem to be waning. Alex Rodriguez, who copped to doping and served a lengthy suspension near the

end of his career, faces an uphill battle when he finally becomes eligible for the Hall consideration

despite going deep 696 times. Sammy Sosa has no chance of getting in with 609 homers, his lofty

numbers also viewed as highly suspicious by the voters.

Jim Thome (612) will be on the ballot for 2018 and might have a shot as a first-year inductee since he

was never suspected of drug use. But just the fact that his candidacy isn't a no-brainer shows how the

stature of the home run has fallen.

It wasn't this way before the steroids era.

Forget 600 homers. Being a member of the 500 club used to be a sure-fire ticket into the Hall. The first

15 players to reach that landmark were all voted in — 12 on their first try. A dozen more players have

joined the list in recent years, and eight have been on the Cooperstown ballot.

June 1, 2017 Page 23 of 36

Of those, only Ken Griffey Jr. (630) and Frank Thomas (521) received enough votes to get in.

Joining Bonds and Sosa on the outside are Mark McGwire (583), Rafael Palmeiro (569), Manny Ramirez

(555) and Gary Sheffield (509). McGwire — an acknowledged doper — didn't come close to receiving the

required 75 percent in his 10 years on the ballot. Palmeiro — who was suspended for a failed test —

dropped out of consideration after only four years because of a lack of support. Two other tainted

players, Ramirez and Sheffield, seem unlikely to get into Cooperstown based on their early voting totals.

Which brings us back to Pujols.

He simply wants to slip in the back door of the 600 club before anyone notices.

"I don't play here for numbers," he said. "I'm aware of the history, don't get me wrong. I respect it. But I

think that's kind of a distraction that I don't want to bring into the game for me."

Pujols shouldn't have to worry.

It's hard to find anyone making a big deal about the long ball.

FROM ESPN.COM

Still the god of WAR? Don't doubt Mike Trout

By Sam Miller / ESPN.com

A hitter goes 0-for-4, and it's a bummer. A hitter with a 50-game hitting streak goes 0-for-4, and it's a

true loss, something to stop and be miserable about.

That's how it feels to see Mike Trout go on the disabled list for the first time: A perfect career is now, in

a small and stupid way, blemished. Trout's assault on history is for the first time standing still, while time

marches on. Will these six to eight weeks be the ones we look back on if Trout comes up 10 homers

short of 700, or 50 hits shy of 4,000, or some other small margin shy of some even more hyperbolic

career achievement? There's no way of knowing yet, but for the first time the limitlessness of Trout's

perfect career is limited.

Yet here's one piece of perfection I am prepared to boldly predict will remain perfect: After five years of

leading his league in wins above replacement, Trout will do it again. The inevitability of Mike Trout will

be stronger even than six weeks on the DL. If my prediction comes true, it might end up being more

illustrative of his greatness than anything he has done yet.

Here's why it'll happen.

June 1, 2017 Page 24 of 36

What it'll take to lead the American League in WAR

Over the past five years, Trout has averaged 9.6 WAR per year (by Baseball-Reference's WAR model).

The second-place finisher, what we might consider the bar he has to clear, has been, on average, slightly

higher than 8.0:

2016: 9.5 (Mookie Betts)

2015: 8.8 (Josh Donaldson)

2014: 7.3 (Donaldson)

2013: 7.8 (Robinson Cano)

2012: 8.4 (Cano)

When Trout injured his thumb diving into second base Sunday, he was leading the AL in the three most

prominent WAR models. At Baseball Prospectus, his 3.3 WAR is a half-win better than second-

place Corey Dickerson and more than a full win over third-place Aaron Judge. At FanGraphs, his 3.5 WAR

is nearly a win better than second-place Judge (2.6) and third-place Miguel Sano (2.5).

At Baseball-Reference, his competition was much closer to him, so we'll focus on that one. Here's how

close the league is to Trout in bWAR:

1. Trout: 3.3

2. Judge: 3.2

3. Dickerson: 2.7

4. Brett Gardner: 2.6

The bad news is that his lead through Tuesday's games is minuscule; he might lose it overnight, by the

time you read this. The moderately good news is that the names closest to him are not the names you'd

expect to lead the league in WAR, not the sort of players who could plausibly end up with eight or nine

wins in a season. If Josh Donaldson had 3.2 WAR, or Robinson Cano or Francisco Lindor did, Trout would

be in real danger of falling behind somebody good enough to be almost uncatchable. But those elite

American Leaguers are more than six weeks' WAR behind Trout:

Cano: 1.5 WAR

Lindor: 1.5

Manny Machado: 1.0

Donaldson: 0.6

June 1, 2017 Page 25 of 36

Judge, Dickerson and Gardner, meanwhile, are much more likely to fall off their torrid paces. If they

were the only three people Trout had to worry about, he probably wouldn't have much to worry about:

The ZiPS projection system sees each finishing shy of 6 WAR for the full season:

Judge: 5.4

Dickerson: 4.0

Gardner: 4.3

(That figure represents the sum of each player's actual WAR to date and ZiPS' rest-of-season

projections.)

Judge is, admittedly, far more terrifying in this game than ZiPS gives him credit for, because his error

bars are so big. The league might find a hole in his swing and shut him down entirely from here on out,

but he might also be a future Hall of Famer, 21 home runs into an 800-homer career. At his age, with his

limited track record, with his tools and with his performances last year and this year, there's just no way

of knowing. That makes him way more dangerous than somebody like Gardner.

The bigger threat, perhaps the biggest, is probably Mookie Betts, who currently ranks fifth with 2.3

WAR. Here's what ZiPS projects for Betts, for the 15 players after him on the WAR leaderboard and for a

few select superstars:

Betts: 6.2

Avisail Garcia: 2.8

Jose Altuve: 5.7

Sano: 4.2

Carlos Correa: 5.9

Aaron Hicks: 2.9

Guillermo Heredia: 2.4

Kevin Kiermaier: 4.2

Souza: 3.3

Joey Gallo: 3.3

Kevin Pillar: 3.8

Max Kepler: 3.2

Mitch Haniger: 2.8

June 1, 2017 Page 26 of 36

Evan Longoria: 4.0

Whit Merrifield: 2.6

Starlin Castro: 3.0

Lindor: 5.4

Cano: 4.0

Machado: 4.4

Donaldson: 4.2

Unfortunately for Trout, this doesn't mean 6.2 WAR will lead the league. With the exception of Trout,

the league leader in any category is almost always somebody who outperformed his projections,

somebody who had an above-average (or even career) year. At least one of these players will put

together four of the best months of his career and topple his projections this summer. But we can see

that there is currently no elite player having an exceptional-for-him season. It's a good year for 7 or 8

WAR to lead the American League, in other words. We'll call it 7.5. That's the bar for Trout: 7.5 WAR.

What we expect from Trout

We're going to make two assumptions here, both of which might end up being optimistic but both of

which are crucial to the exercise. (And being optimistic on Trout has never failed us before.) The first is

that Trout will miss six weeks, not eight or more. In fact, the end of six weeks would be exactly the last

day of the first half, so he could miss six weeks and get four extra days off for free. The second is that

when he comes back, his thumb will be fully healed and the injury won't affect his play at all.

That would put him back on the field for the final 70 days, or 43.2 percent, of the season. ZiPS projects

Trout for 3.8 WAR per 70 games, which would only get him to 7.1 WAR for the season. On the other

hand, if the past five years are exactly the Mike Trout we can expect -- 9.56 WAR per season -- then he

would be good for 4.1 WAR after the injury, and 7.4 WAR for the season. Better still, he averaged those

9.56 WAR while missing some games, either because the Angels left him in Triple-A to start the 2012

season or for assorted minor aches. On a per-game basis, he's good for 4.3 WAR per 70 games played. If

he plays all 70 games in the second half, that would get him to 7.6 WAR. More than 7.5.

But I'm not comfortable with that margin, and I don't think I need to be, for a couple of reasons. The

first is this: Remember when I said there were no elite players having exceptional-for-him seasons? The

exception is Trout, who was having the best season of his career before the thumb injury. His OPS was

more than 200 points higher than any season he'd had before; his OPS+ is the fourth-highest by any

hitter since World War II, trailing only three peak Barry Bonds seasons. He was hitting so well, and the

June 1, 2017 Page 27 of 36

guys behind him hitting so poorly, that he was starting to get The Bonds Treatment, which would have

boosted his offensive value further. (It's hard to make an out on an intentional walk.)

If Trout played the final 70 games at that level, he'd produce 4.9 second-half wins, and 8.2 for the

season. That's unlikely; it's more likely that Trout was hot than that he'd turned into a whole new

superstar. But if the truth is even somewhere in between, it would get him close to 8 WAR.

More significant, perhaps, is that Trout will now play those final 70 games without being as affected by

The Grind. At Baseball Prospectus, Russell Carleton has found that the long season really does produce

fatigue that hurts players' statistics. The math is gory, but, Carleton concludes,

The results showed that over time, the same hitters and pitchers would produce slightly (but statistically

significantly) different results as the year wore on. In general, a hitter was more likely to swing, more like

to miss when he does swing, but more likely to end up with a ball if he takes. ... The calendar really does

subtly and slowly bleed value out of hitters.

It might not be obvious while we're watching it, because everybody is dealing with the same grind, but it

could give the player who isn't as wilted a real advantage. Imagine, for instance, if every NBA player

slowly but steadily shrunk an inch over the course of a season. We'd barely notice, but the player who

managed to avoid this depletion would be better, relative to his peers, at the end of the season than the

start.

Furthermore, Trout might be more prone to the grind than other players. He plays a very rough and

physical style, and he does it with a relatively heavy body. As a center fielder, he is involved in far more

plays than the typical outfielder of his build. As a very fast runner, he must go full speed in pursuit of

infield hits, triples and stolen bases more often than the typical power hitter. And he has played almost

every day in his career, despite dealing with a variety of reported and unreported aches. The wear of his

role has arguably been visible in his second-half performances since 2012, when he became a major

league regular:

First half: .322/.411/.598

Second half: .296/.416/.540

Even more intriguing are his stolen-base rates. In the first half, he has stolen 91 bases and been caught

only 13 times -- a stolen base every five games and an 88 percent success rate. In the second half, he has

stolen only 58 bases and been caught 16 times. That's one every six games, and a 78 percent success

rate.

This might be the first time Trout gets to play the second half fresh. Obviously, it's better for everybody

if Mike Trout plays more games, all the games. But we just saw Mike Trout putting up the best first half

of his career. If he's fresher than he has ever been, we might soon see him put up the best second half,

too. Eight wins is well within reach.

June 1, 2017 Page 28 of 36

Nobody has ever led the league in WAR in fewer than 117 games, the number George Brett played in

1980. If Trout finishes the first half on the disabled list but plays every game of the second half, he'd

have 117, too. It'd be a weird record, but a record it'd be.

We'll never know what less-weird history Trout might have made this year. He's only one home run, six

RBIs and nine points of batting average behind the AL leaders, so had he stayed healthy we might have

been only a month or so away from a legitimate Triple Crown watch. He might well have topped 11 WAR

for the first time, something only 11 players in history have done. He might have hit 50 homers for the

first time in his career; he might have been baseball's first ever 50-homer/30-steal player. He was just

about on pace to do it.

If he leads the league in WAR while missing a quarter of the season, it won't replace any of those

accomplishments, but in its own way it might be the most impressive -- and the most illustrative --

superlative of his career to date. We know Trout is the best player in his league, but this would put a

scale to that statement. It would tell us that he's an entire quarter of a baseball season better than

anybody else. And it'll be the most incredible thing Trout does until the next thing.

Albert Pujols chases 600th homer amid empty seats, questions

By Alden Gonzalez / ESPN Staff Writer

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Angel Stadium was 10,000 spectators short of a capacity crowd despite the potential

historical significance of Wednesday night's game against the Atlanta Braves.

It provided concrete proof for the notion that Albert Pujols' methodical pursuit of 600 home runs has

generated relatively scant attention.

Veteran Angels closer Huston Street lamented that before the 2-1 win.

"The stadium was not packed last night -- was not packed," Street said, referencing a Tuesday night

when Pujols lifted career home run No. 599. "There was a time when that would have never happened."

Maybe it's another byproduct of the steroid era, which inflated home run totals and stripped so much of

the fascination from accomplishments like these. Maybe it's that Pujols never likes to talk about himself,

or that he's so far removed from his prime, or that Mike Trout has long been overshadowing him on his

own team. Maybe we no longer care enough about things like this.

"I think the game has shifted to youth," Street said. "In a way, I think it's smart business. And in a way,

someone like an Albert Pujols needs to be celebrated. And I think a lot of it has to do with the

distraction of society. There's so many portals of entertainment now, not just baseball."

The Angels moved back to .500 for the sixth time in two weeks. But Pujols went 1-for-4 with a strikeout,

a couple of groundouts and only a bloop single, which gave him 2,874 career hits and moved him past

Babe Ruth on the all-time list.

June 1, 2017 Page 29 of 36

Pujols is batting .254, with eight home runs, 38 RBIs and a .712 OPS that is topped by 125 other qualified

players. But Street doesn't believe that tells the whole story.

"I think the biggest thing that Albert probably doesn't get enough credit for is how often he's playing

through something -- a sore hamstring, a bad ankle, something," Street said. "Let's be clear: He's next-

level tough."

Mike Scioscia, entering the midway point of his 18th season as the Angels' manager, calls Pujols "the

toughest player I have ever managed." Trout underwent thumb surgery earlier on Wednesday and could

be out through the All-Star break. And it is in times like these when Scioscia senses a heightened sense

of urgency in Pujols.

"He takes it on," Scioscia said. "He does not want to be out of the lineup. If he had a scheduled day off

and something happens, he comes in and says, 'Hey, I'm playing. I want to play. I feel good.'"

With his next home run, Pujols will become the ninth player to belt 600 and the fourth youngest to get

there, behind only Ruth, Alex Rodriguez and Hank Aaron. His first 10 years with the St. Louis Cardinals --

with at least a .300 batting average, 30 home runs and 100 RBIs in each season -- instantly made him a

first-ballot Hall of Famer and put him on track for numbers that won't be matched in a very long time.

Pujols is 37, but is under contract for four more seasons after this one.

He's only 145 RBIs away from 2,000.

He's only 126 hits away from 3,000.

He's only 101 home runs away from 700, which, if he plays through his deal, would require averaging

just over 20 home runs from 2017 to '21.

Only Aaron has reached all three of those milestones.

"It's like you're watching, in real time, a master polish off his masterpiece," Street said. "And I think that,

to me, is why I enjoy it so much."

But it doesn't seem like the rest of society feels the same. The announced attendance for Wednesday's

game was 35,795, which was actually 53 fewer than Angel Stadium's average heading into the game.

The Angels estimated that they handed out five or six more credentials than they would for a typical

game, but the media presence wasn't anywhere near what a number like 600 warrants.

Street wanted to try to put that number in perspective.

"God bless Mike Trout; I love Mike Trout," he said. "It's 350 homers until he hits 600."

Actually, Trout is 416 home runs away from 600, which only strengthens Street's point.

"He's the best player in the world right now, Mike Trout, but he has to hit [416] more, and he just had

thumb surgery," Street said. "Things happen. And that's the beauty of what Albert has been able to

June 1, 2017 Page 30 of 36

accomplish. Because you have to remember that guys get to those numbers through tremendous

amounts of will, sacrifice ... loads of pain, all sorts of distraction, family issues, life issues. It is a body of

work that, when he hits 600, and I expect he will, and when he hits 700, which he very well could, these

are moments of, like, masterpiece, almost."

FROM CBS SPORTS

If Trout-less Angels decide to sell, here's the five players they could trade away

From Bud Norris to Matt Shoemaker, the Angels have some viable pieces to offer

By R.J. Anderson

Earlier this week, we learned Mike Trout could miss up to two months as he recovers from a torn thumb

ligament. The news stinks for everyone who enjoys watching Trout play baseball, but especially for Trout

and his team, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, who entered play on Wednesday 27-28 and 2.5 games

back in the Wild Card race.

Without Trout, the Angels do not appear to have a legitimate chance at remaining in contention. That's

no great insult to manager Mike Scioscia or his bunch -- indeed, losing the best player in baseball would

qualify as more than a flesh wound to any team. The reality, though, is the Angels were constructed in

such a bit-player-heavy manner that they were hostages to Trout's wellbeing.

As such, it's fair to assert the Angels could turn into sellers by the trade deadline. Who, then, might they

move? Let's take a look at five realistic targets. The players are ranked by likelihood of getting dealt,

beginning with the player who seems most likely to be on the move.

Bud Norris RP / L.A. Angels

Here's a weird thought: Bud Norris, the 32-year-old whose career ERA was 4.51 when he inked a minor-

league contract in January, could be the Angels' All-Star Game representative. He entered Wednesday

with some impressive marks, including a 2.92 ERA and a 3.20 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Credit Norris for

altering his pitch selection in his first full season out of the bullpen -- he's leaning more on his cutter and

slider than his plain ol' fastball. That decision seems to be paying dividends, given he's missing more bats

than before (his contact rate has dipped from 77 percent to 69 percent, per Baseball-Reference.com).

Norris probably won't continue to pitch this well, but could find himself of interest to contenders as a

setup man.

Cameron Maybin LF / L.A. Angels

Another 30-something-year-old wanderer who last winter joined the Angels to little fanfare.

Yes, Cameron Maybin is part of the Angels' plan to replace Trout. But because he's prone to injury, and

because he's nearing free agency, the Angels would be wise to move him in the coming weeks to an

inquiring contender. Perhaps the most interesting part of Maybin's game these days is his transformed

June 1, 2017 Page 31 of 36

approach at the plate. He's swinging less often and commanding the zone better; hence a 16 percent

walk rate that is almost certainly unsustainable, yet impressive all the same. Factor in Maybin's stolen-

base ability, and he could serve as some team's leadoff hitter.

Yusmeiro Petit RP / L.A. Angels

A National League fixture prior to joining the Angels in February on a minor-league deal, Yusmeiro

Petit remains a multi-inning reliever. He's averaging five outs per outing, and has recorded more than

three outs in 13 of his 19 appearances. That Petit is striking out more than 10 batters per nine while

soaking up innings is perhaps even more impressive. With teams aspiring to find new, more efficient

ways to use their bullpens -- particularly in the playoffs -- it's worth noting Petit has already shown he

can be an asset in October: back in 2014, he made a three-inning relief appearance for the San Francisco

Giants in each the NLDS, NLCS, and World Series.

Blake Parker RP / L.A. Angels

Yet another unheralded bullpen find. Blake Parker was selected off waivers four times between last

August and December, including twice by the Angels. He stuck the second time, and has since ensured

he won't be hitting the wire again anytime soon by striking out 38 batters in 23 innings. (PS: He hasn't

allowed a home run yet.) Parker stairsteps using a rising mid-90s fastball and a splitter. The Angels have

less incentive to trade him than they do with the other listed relievers because of his contractual status

(he's under team control through the 2020 season), but he's already 32 years old and he was acquired

for a song. Even if Parker continues to pitch at a high level, the Angels would be justified in cashing in on

found money.

Matt Shoemaker SP / L.A. Angels

We know, we know. Matt Shoemaker is unlikely to be traded because the Angels have every reason to

keep their long-term assets in an effort to win during Trout's prime. Still, think about it. Shoemaker is an

experienced mid-rotation starter who is under team control through the 2020 season. But he's also

turning 31 soon, and it's possible -- perhaps likely -- that trading him at the deadline for a few prospects

would be a better long-term play for the Angels than keeping him around. Pitchers are risky business,

and nonelite pitchers on the wrong side of 30 are especially so. That doesn't mean the Angels will trade

Shoemaker -- just that they should think about it.

FROM SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

Projecting career home run totals for 17 active sluggers, and why the 600 Club still matters

By Jay Jaffe

The recent loss of Mike Trout for six to eight weeks due to a thumb ligament injury has threatened

to derail the Angels' already slim playoff hopes—just 7% entering Wednesday, according to Baseball

June 1, 2017 Page 32 of 36

Prospectus—but for at least the next several days, Albert Pujols could provide a reason for Halos

fans to pay rapt attention. On Tuesday night, the 37-year-old slugger clubbed the 599th home run

of his career, a three-run shot off Atlanta's Bartolo Colon that powered Los Angeles to a 9-3 victory

and moved Pujols to the precipice of becoming the ninth player to reach 600 career home runs.

Age, off-season foot surgery and a recent hamstring problem have contributed to a slow start to

Pujols' 2017 season, but he's been perking up lately. The homer was his third in five games, a binge

that has lifted his season OPS 65 points, from .652 to .717. His overall slash line of .254/.304/.413 is

not only a step down from the .265/.323/.469 he's produced since signing with the Angels in

December 2011 following an incredible 11-year run in St. Louis, but the on-base and slugging

percentages rate as career lows at the moment. Largely confined to designated hitter duty since the

start of last season, Pujols' power is his last remaining asset, which is to say that we shouldn't

expect much from him as he plays out the remainder of his 10-year, $240 million contract, which

runs through 2021.

It's that decline that's muted the enthusiasm for his assault on 600. With 445 homers through 2011,

his age-31 season, Pujols appeared capable of challenging Barry Bonds' record of 762 homers. Alas,

even reaching 700 at this point seems unlikely.

Six hundred homers is rarefied air, albeit not quite as rarified as it used to be. Until Sept. 22, 1969,

when Willie Mays hit number 600, the milestone had been reached only by Babe Ruth, who hit his

600th on Aug. 21, 1931. On April 28, 1971, less than two years after Mays, Hank Aaron joined the

club en route to toppling Ruth's record of 714 homers, which he did on April 8, 1974. It took more

than 31 years for another slugger, namely Bonds, to get there (en route to outhomering Aaron); he

did so on Aug. 9, 2002. Since then, Sammy Sosa (June 20, 2007), Ken Griffey Jr. (June 9, 2008), Alex

Rodriguez (Aug. 4, 2010) and Jim Thome (Aug. 15, 2011) have reached 600 in comparatively quick

succession, doubling the size of the group.

With Pujols, the ranks will have tripled during this millennium, a more drastic expansion than even

that of the 500 home run club, which has grown from 16 to 27 in that span. It makes sense to

include Mark McGwire, who got to 500 on Aug. 5, 1999, as part of that surge as well, because he,

like the other recent 500 club members, benefited from the confluence of factors that pushed per-

team-per-game home run rates above 1.0 every year from 1994 to 2009, a level only reached

previously in 1987. Smaller ballparks, the changing strike zone, changes to the ball, a dilution of

pitching talent due to expansion and the influx of performance-enhancing drug use were often

credited (or blamed) for causing that rise, sometimes erroneously; for example, the wave of new

ballparks generally had fewer seats but further fence distances, while the growth of the player pool

to include Asia as well as Latin America has outstripped the rate of expansion.

Regardless of what actually caused the rise of home run rates, the prestige of the 500 Club has been

diminished in the eyes of many by the number of its members connected to PEDs, namely Bonds,

McGwire, Rodriguez, Sosa, David Ortiz, Rafael Palmeiro, Manny Ramirez and Gary Sheffield. The

mark, which used to guarantee entry to the Hall of Fame, no longer does. Palmeiro, the first such

June 1, 2017 Page 33 of 36

player to test positive, fell off the ballot after four years, McGwire aged off after 10 years, and both

Sosa and Sheffield are languishing with minimal support, destined to fall short of the 75% required

for election. Only in the most recent balloting, his fifth year of eligibility, did Bonds reach 50% of the

vote, a level that historically has strongly indicated eventual election. If and when he reaches 75%,

that will leave Slammin' Sammy and A-Rod (scheduled to join the ballot for the Class of 2022) as the

lone 600-level outsiders looking in.

Pujols' arrival at that milestone is worth noting not only because it's an incredible feat but because

he's the last player we'll see at that level for awhile. Among active players, the Tigers' Miguel

Cabrera (451 career homers), and the Rangers' Adrian Beltre (445) and Carlos Beltran (427) are the

only ones above 400. At 34 years old, Cabrera stands an excellent chance to make it to 500. The 38-

year-old Beltre, on the other hand, was just activated by Texas on Monday after missing nearly two

months with a calf strain, and while he should surpass 3,000 hits later this season (he needs 56),

picking up the 55 homers he'll need to reach 500 will be a much taller order. For the 40-year-old

Beltran, that milestone is almost certainly unreachable given that he's topped 20 homers only once

since 2013.

Just over two years ago, on the occasion of Pujols surpassing Hall of Famers Ted Williams, Willie

McCovey and Frank Thomas to take over sole possession of 18th place on the all -time home run list

with 522, I used Baseball Prospectus' rest-of-season and long-term PECOTA forecasts

to estimate the number of dingers he and other sluggers would end up with. PECOTA uses recent

performance as well as a database of comparable players in terms of age, performance, height and

weight to plot out each player's trajectory along an aging curve. Using those forecasts, cutting the

latter off either after age 40 (I used 42 last time) or following the player’s first year below

replacement level (0.0 WARP, BP's version of WAR), unless their contract runs beyond either of

those points, here are the players with at least 200 home runs under their belts who project to hit

at least 400:

PLAYER CURRENT HR 2017 AGE FINAL HR

Albert Pujols 599 37 686

Miguel Cabrera 451 34 651

Edwin Encarnacion 320 34 507

Chris Davis 251 31 504

Adrian Beltre 445 38 497

June 1, 2017 Page 34 of 36

Giancarlo Stanton 222 27 473

Adam Jones 233 31 440

Carlos Beltran 427 40 439

Ryan Braun 292 33 435

Jay Bruce 253 30 432

Evan Longoria 249 31 421

Nelson Cruz 296 36 418

Jose Bautista 318 36 418

Justin Upton 230 29 416

Robinson Cano 288 34 414

Matt Kemp 249 32 401

Adrian Gonzalez 309 35 401

That's 17 players (out of 37 currently with at least 200), up from 10 the last time around even with

the shorter timeframe, thanks in part to the MLB-wide resurgence in home run rates. Where they

slipped below 1.0 per team per game in four of the five seasons from 2010 to '14—including 0.86 in

the last of those years—they've soared back above that level each year since; the current rate of

1.22 would be a record. In the 2015 set, Pujols projected to finish at 642 and Cabrera at 610.

Note that the PECOTA projections only run through 2026, which will be Stanton's age-36 season; he

appears likely to reach the 500 level if he remains healthy. The other two players whose projections

fall short of their age-40 seasons, Bruce and Upton, don't figure to come close to 500 unless they

pick up the pace and/or stick around for even longer.

All told, over the next decade that's one more addition to the 600 club and perhaps four who will

reach 500 besides Cabrera, though Encarnacion, Davis and Beltre don't have much margin for error.

June 1, 2017 Page 35 of 36

Considering that with Pujols’ next homer, the 2008 to '17 decade will have seen three additions to

600 and seven to 500, that's something of a slowdown. Even with balls flying out of the park, those

milestones still mean something.

FROM THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE

How do you replace Mike Trout?

By Eddie Brown

You can’t replace Mike Trout.

(Good night, everybody! Drive home safe!)

Well, you can’t replace Trout in his entirety.

You might be able to find someone who comes close in power. You might be able to find

someone who comes close in steals. Maybe those individuals don’t kill you in batting average,

but no one is capable of replicating the total package even over a short sample size such as 6-8

weeks.

Still, was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? No, which means it’s much too early

for a Trout owner to pack it in.

Trout, by the way, underwent successful surgery — Is he capable of doing anything

unsuccessfully? — to repair his dorsal capsule as well as the ulnar collateral ligament of his left

thumb on Wednesday.

It wouldn’t shock me if he beats the doctor’s timetable to return.

In the meantime, here are some options to help ensure you don’t fall too far behind:

Cameron Maybin, Angels: If replacing Trout’s speed is your biggest priority, Maybin is your

man. He’s currently dealing with some side soreness, but he’ll be Trout’s primary replacement

while he’s on the DL. He has more steals in the last month than anyone not named Billy

Hamilton or Dee Gordon and he’s currently owned in fewer than half of all fantasy leagues.

Domingo Santana, Brewers: Someone who has previously drew comparisons to George

Springer has began delivering on that promise. He currently has eight homers and four steals

while hovering around a .270 average for most of the season. He’s also currently available in

most leagues.

June 1, 2017 Page 36 of 36

David Dahl, Rockies: Dahl may still be a week or two away from being activated from his own

lengthy DL stint, but he has the highest ceiling and most Trout-like skillset of anyone who is

likely available — he’s owned in only 32 percent of ESPN leagues.

Tommy Pham, Cardinals: Pham should get regular playing time with Randal Grichuk in the

minors. He had five home runs, four steals and hit .320 in May.

Scott Schebler, Reds: Schebler has 16 home runs — the same amount as Trout — headed into

June, while being owned in only 60 percent of ESPN leagues and 76 percent of CBS leagues.