28-year old righty swinging C/1B Mike Napoli is having a solid year for the Angels. He started out the season behind the plate but he moved to 1B when Jeff Mathis came off the D.L. and starting 1B Kendry Morales went down for the year with a broken ankle. Napoli has played in 87 games for the Angels this year and he is 74 of 284 (.261 avg, .837 OPS) with 40 runs scored, 18 homers and 44 RBIs. He’s still a free swinger though as he has 86 whiffs this year. Still, that’s nitpicking and that Angels won’t care how many times he strikes out as long as he’s productive. Napoli has career highs of 60 runs scored, 20 homers and 56 RBIs in his major league career and I look for him to set new marks in all three of those categories as long as he can stay healthy.

34-year old outfielder will be the only player on the Angels that won’t get the All-Star Break off as he has made the team. Hunter has played in 79 games for the Angels this season and he is 85 of 289 (.294 avg, .899 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 14 homers, 60 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. This will be Hunter’s 4th All-Star Game appearance and he certainly deserves it as his bat has been carrying the Angels’ offense. Don’t forget his outstanding glove work which could help the A.L. win the game next week.

UPDATE: (7/6/2010) - Jered Weaver has been selected to the American League All-Star team to replace C.C. Sabathia who won’t be able to pitch in the game. Weaver has started 17 games for the Angels this year and he is 8-3 with a 2.82 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. He has only given up 89 hits in 108 2/3 innings while whiffing a league leading 124 batters. Weaver finally gets his due as he deserved to be picked to the All-Star team initially as he has pitched better than Sabathia this year.

26-year old righty swinging 2B Howie Kendrick has been pretty solid for the Angels this year. Kendrick has played in 74 games for the Angels this season and he is 82 of 295 (.278 avg, .727 OPS) with 35 runs scored, 7 homers, 48 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Kendrick has been kind of brittle in his career so the Angels have their fingers crossed hoping he can stay healthy this year. In his previous four years with the Angels Kendrick has career highs of 105 games played, 61 runs scored, 10 homers, 61 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. Kendrick is on pace to smash all of those numbers as long as he can stay in one piece.

No one thought to much of the signing of 28-year old righty swinging infielder Kevin Frandsen when it happened. But he is swinging a hot bat for the Angels right now. He has played in 20 games for the Angels this year and he is 21 of 57 (.368 avg, .856 OPS) with 11 runs scored and 5 RBIs. Frandsen played in 174 games in his first four seasons in the majors and he was 98 for 408 (.240 avg, .645 OPS) with 41 runs scored, 7 homers, 39 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. With all of the injuries the Angels have suffered in the infield lately it’s important that Frandsen keeps hitting the ball when he’s in the lineup.

When Kendry Morales went down for the season due to ankle surgery it seemed as if the Angels would have to go outside the organization for help. But lo and behold, catcher Mike Napoli moved to 1B and while not looking like a natural there he isn’t hurting the Angels there either. Napoli has played in 56 games for the Angels this season and he is 47 of 185 (.254 avg, .815 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 10 homers, 26 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He is still a hacker (64 whiffs) but as long as he can play decent defense at first and give the Angels a power stick he will likely find a new home for the rest of this year unless the Angels deal for a 1B. With Jeff Mathis near a return to team with Bobby Wilson behind the plate the Angels look o.k. for now.