Albert Pujols hit a 2-run home run in the first inning Thursday, jump-starting the Cardinals to a 6-2 win. Jake Westbrook threw eight innings en route to his 8th win of the year.

Pujols’ recovery from a broken forearm suffered 19 June has been nothing short of remarkable. Mere mortals take 6 weeks to heal, and another 2-to-3 to regain enough strength in their atrophied muscles to swing a bat with their former authority. The Cardinals first baseman missed 15 games total. He’s also hitting the ball out regularly again; through last night’s game, he was homering once every 10.75 at bats, an improvement of almost 6 at bats from his 16.47 pace through the first 73 games (for the record, his career rate is 1 HR for every 14.12 AB). So he’s back and better than ever, right?

Yes and no. As mentioned above, he’s driving the ball over the wall more. Even with the power surge, though, Pujols’ slash line of .233/.277/.535 since returning is worse than his .279/.355/.500 line before the injury. His drop in batting average can largely be attributed to worse luck on balls in play. His BABIP was .253 up to the injury, and .182 since. His BABIP was due to improve – it was well below his career mark of .311 already in 2011 – even before his injury. It’s still likely to bounce back, and his average should respond.

Although I’m looking at a small sample size, his OBP is off. This appears due to both the low BABIP discussed above, and because he’s walking less. Pujols has walked 4 times in 47 PA since returning, or about once every 15 appearances. Before the injury his rate was once every 8 (that number includes the 4 intentional walks he’s gotten this year). It seems when the Cardinals struggle Pujols presses at the plate (or perhaps Pujols pressing at the plate causes the Cardinals to struggle). Low walk rates can indicate a player who’s trying to do too much.

Why would he be less patient? This year’s lineup is much deeper than that of last year when he walked about once every 7 plate appearances, meaning he doesn’t have to carry the team like he did in years past. Is it a desire to prove he’s 100% healthy in his contract year? Could it be just coincidence? Bernie Miklasz pointed out the Cardinals team OBP has dropped significantly from their .357 April/May to .309 since 1 June, so AP’s low OBP might just be indicative of a change in approach by all the Cardinal hitters.

The Cardinals are a much more dangerous club with Albert in the lineup. He has been productive since returning, which has quelled all discussion about him coming back too early, but he still is not the hitter he was his first 10 years in the league. He needs to maintain his patience at the plate, and continue to hit the ball hard. His next hot streak is just around the corner. Hopefully he turns that corner soon.

The following is a press release from the St. Louis Cardinals organization

Cardinals And Garcia Strike A Deal
Pitcher agrees to four year contract with two club options

ST. LOUIS, MO July 13, 2011 – St. Louis Cardinals Sr. Vice President & General Manager John Mozeliak announced today that the Cardinals have agreed to terms with pitcher Jaime Garcia on a four year contract with two club options. The Cardinals made the announcement this afternoon at a press conference at Busch Stadium.

“Jaime is one the best young arms in baseball today,” said Mozeliak. “We are excited to have him as part of the core of our pitching staff for years to come.”

Garcia, 25, is 9-3 with a 3.23 ERA during the first half of this season, which comes on the heels of one of the best rookie campaigns in 2010 where he was 13 – 8 with a 2.70 ERA (4^th N.L.), ranking not only among top rookie pitchers, but also the top Major League pitchers in several categories.

Garcia’s career mark is 23 – 12, with a 3.06 ERA in 57 games, with 240 career strike outs. In 2010, Garcia’s 2.70 ERA was the lowest by a Cardinals’ left handed starter since John Tudor recorded a 2.40 ERA in 22 starts (25 games) during 1990.

Garcia was named both Rookie of the Year and Comeback Player of the Year for 2010 by the St. Louis Chapter of the Baseball Writers of America Association.

Garcia was selected by Baltimore in the 20^th round (899^th overall) of the 2004 draft, but did not sign. The 6-2, 215-pounder was born in Reynosa, Mexico and currently makes his home in Mission, Texas, where he attended Sharyland High School.

To download a copy of this press release in a pdf format, click here.

Yuniesky Betancourt is one of the most enigmatic players in Royals history. Fans, for the most part, hate him, because he makes stupid mistakes in the field, he’s slow on the basepaths and he’s extremely impatient at the plate.

But then again, Betancourt leads the team in home runs, is tied for the lead in RBIs with Billy Butler, and has played in the second-most games, has the second-most at bats, second-most hits, second-most doubles and second-most total bases, Butler being first in all those categories.

Therefore, it would not be a stretch to say Betancourt has been the Royals’ second-most productive offensive player this season.

On the defensive side of the ball, Betancourt is bad statistically – but he makes a higher percentage of great, highlight-reel plays than anyone on the team.

So… what the heck are we to make of Betancourt’s 2010 season, and what does it mean for his future with the Kansas City Royals organization?

Betancourt’s offensive numbers are probably a bit of a fluke. His sixteen home runs are nearly twice his previous high of nine, but his batting average (.258) has actually been substantially lower than his career mark (.272). He’s walked 21 times, which ties his career high, but his on-base percentage is still a paltry .286. He’s also struck out 61 times, a career high.

Yuni is under contract through the end of next season, with a team option for 2012. That means he’ll likely be the starting shortstop next season.

Yeah.

As a fan, I’m willing to let Yuni slide as the shortstop next season – especially if Mike Aviles is the starting second baseman. However, I don’t think Yuni should start only because he has a starter’s contract. If Wilson Betemit gets squeezed out of third base by Mike Moustakas, then Betemit should be considered for shortstop.

But it’ll probably be Yuni. If he can put up these types of numbers, I guess it will be a mild success. Hopefully, he’s just keeping the spot warm until first-round draft pick Christian Colon arrives in the big leagues.

If Betancourt is the starter in 2012, though, I will consider it a huge failure on the part of the Kansas City Royals.

Matt Kelsey is a Royals writer for I-70 Baseball. He can be reached at mattkelsey@i70baseball.com.

Scott Yerbic is on vacation this week, so we reached out to our parent site, BaseballDigest.com, who kindly sent us a temporary fill in with Matt Wilson to bring you this week’s Fantasy Report.

Though the Royals are looking toward the future, there are a few guys to watch for this week on your fantasy radar.

After surgery on his rotator cuff, Jason Kendall will miss the remainder of the season. Brayan Pena and Lucas May (acquired in the Scott Posednik deal with the Dodgers) will share the catching duties but neither will hold much value down the stretch. Pena has the better eye of the two while May has flashed some pop in the minors this season (40 extra base hits). May has the better upside of the two offensively but his defense has been erratic.

Mitch Maier may benefit a bit from the Kendall injury. He will slide into the second spot in the lineup. Royals hitting coach, Kevin Seitzer explained that he fit the two-hole best of everyone on the team. Seitzer keeps a detailed situational hitting report, and Maier has an even better rating than Kendall at that spot in the lineup. The biggest impact will be in the Runs column and of course seeing some better pitches by batting in front of Billy Butler.

Butler is a must start in all formats. He has had struggles at Target Field and with the Twins starters he’ll face there this week, but with a career mark near .300 Butler is a solid start. He also has hit .429 in his last 7 games. The only question with Butler is where has the power gone? Many anticipated improvement from the 21 HR he hit a year ago. Instead, he has regressed. The 24 year-old has taken some nice strides at the plate striking out less and walking more. It may just be that Butler is a 15-20 HR guy for now with a possible breakout coming in the next couple years. With an average in the .300’s and the power potential, I’ll take it and so should you.

With the Royals visiting the Twins and White Sox this week, it would be hard to justify starting anyone in their rotation outside of Zach Greinke. Even Greinke has struggled against the Twins at Target Field this season posting two losses and a 7.20 ERA in his two starts there. His last start against the Twins he was shelled surrendering 6 runs in the first inning and 8 through four innings in a 19-1 shellacking. Last season, I would never try to talk you out of starting Greinke. This season, I’d at least think about it. There are lots of numbers I’m not liking here, but since I’ve pointed that out I’m sure he’ll respond by throwing a “no-no.”

There are guys who should stay on your radar in keeper leagues. Alex Gordon is hard to give up on. Mike Moustakas is the leading name on the list of Royals to like in 2010. He will compete for the 3B job next spring. He was awarded the George Brett Hitter of the Year honor this last week. His minor league line this season: .326 with 34 HR and 120 RBI between AA and AAA. He won’t get a call-up this September but if your league allows you to claim minor leaguers he’s one to keep in mind.