Albert Pujols: 8 Bold Predictions for Slugger's 1st Year with Angels

The Los Angeles Angels made the offseason's boldest move when they signed Albert Pujols for $254 million, so it's only appropriate that there be some bold predictions to go along with it.

Albert Pujols is the icon that defines post-steroid era baseball. His production over the first 11 years of his career is unparalleled by anybody in the history of the sport. The Angels are counting on him to continue that production for at least another seven and are hoping that he can still be a high-caliber player in the final years as an Angel.

But for now, we are only going to look at what could happen during the first year of his contract. Here are eight bold predictions for Albert Pujols' first season as an Angel.

He'll Break the Angels' Club Record for Home Runs in a Season

In 2000, Troy Glaus hit 47 home runs for the Los Angeles Angels and set the club record for home runs in a season.

In 2012, Albert Pujols will break that record.

Pujols has reached 47 homers twice during his career, in 2006 and 2009. Both years, he won the National League MVP award.

Angel Stadium has gained a reputation as a pitcher's park, but in reality, it is closer to neutral and is actually more friendly to hitters than the Cardinals' Busch Stadium.

Pujols has the setting to put together a monster year in terms of home-run production. I'm not going to stop at breaking the Angels' home-run record. I'm going to take it a step further and say he reaches 50 home runs for the first time in his career.

He'll Have 20 Steals

Albert Pujols is underrated as a baserunner because he is so well known for his power. The reality is, when he is asked to steal a base, he is usually successful.

Over the last three years, Pujols has stolen 39 bases while being caught only nine times. He has stolen 16 bases twice over his career, so while baserunning may not be his primary asset, it's certainly not a weakness.

Playing under Mike Scioscia will get him a lot more opportunities to steal bases, and by the end of 2012, he will have joined the 20/20 club.

He'll Play First Base, Designated Hitter and Third Base

The first two shouldn't come as any surprise, as Albert Pujols has won two Gold Gloves playing first base and will likely fill in as a designated hitter every once in a while as a way to get some rest.

But, the Angels have an abundance of first basemen in Pujols, Kendrys Morales and Mark Trumbo. Trumbo may move to third while Morales gets most of his at-bats as a DH, but there is room for experimentation.

Pujols voluntarily spent some time at the hot corner in 2011 and actually came up from the minors as a third baseman. In a pinch, he could be a reliable alternate for the position. Expect him to take on that role occasionally throughout the season.

He'll Be Walked over 100 Times

Albert Pujols was walked over 100 times for three consecutive years before only collecting 61 last year. 2012 is when he will return to the century mark for bases on balls.

As a member of the Angels, Pujols will no longer have the bat of Matt Holliday protecting him. Instead, he will have the bat of Mark Trumbo or Kendrys Morales. Both players are very good and can hit with power, but they don't intimidate in the same was that Holliday does.

Trumbo is coming off a rookie season in which he hit 29 home runs, but also struck out 120 times. The last time Morales played a full season, he complemented his 34 home runs with 117 strikeouts.

If I were a pitcher, I would much rather take my chances on Trumbo or Morales than Pujols, who only struck out 58 times last year.  Because of that, Pujols will be intentionally walked—or at least pitched to carefully—a lot more often. As a result, his walk total will climb back up to 100 or more.

He'll Get Back to 120 RBIs

2011 was well-documented as a down year for Albert Pujols.  He had career lows in batting average, hits and walks. He also had a low in RBIs, as he failed to reach 100 for the first time in his career.

In 2012, Pujols will not only get back to 100, but he will go a step further and drive in 120 runs.

Mike Scioscia will no doubt tinker with the lineup until he finds something that fits, but Pujols can count on having Erick Aybar, Howie Kendrick or Bobby Abreu hitting in from of him for most of 2012. Even Mike Trout may crack the top of the order if he turns into the type of player he is expected to become.

Whatever happens, all of those players are capable of getting on base a lot. Aybar and Kendrick have shown that they can be on-base percentage machines, and Abreu is still a reliable table-setter even as he nears the end of his career.

When Pujols hits 50 home runs this season, he will have runners on base for a good amount of them. That will lead to at least 120 RBIs.

He'll Be the Leading Vote-Getter for the All-Star Game

Albert Pujols has missed two All-Star games in his career—the first was in 2002, his second year in the league, and the other was last season's.

In 2012, Pujols will not only earn a starting spot in the game, but he will also be the leading vote-getter.

Even if he isn't on pace for 50 home runs, 100 walks or 120 RBIs, Pujols will still get a lot of votes simply as a result of his change of scenery.

Pujols was popular in St. Louis, but the media attention he will be receiving in Los Angeles can only be matched by New York, and maybe Boston. He will be competing with the likes of Mark Teixeira, Adrian Gonzalez and Prince Fielder, but Pujols will still generate the excitement needed to become the leading vote-getter.

He'll Win His 4th MVP Award

There's no guarantee that all of these bold predictions will become reality, but in the case that they do, Albert Pujols will run away with his fourth MVP award, and his first from the American League.

How can you hit 50 home runs, drive in 120 runs and collect 100 walks and not win the MVP?

(Answer: By playing in the same league as Barry Bonds when he breaks the single-season home-run record. Luis Gonzalez and Sammy Sosa each hit over 50 home runs with well over 120 RBIs and had the 100 walks, but didn't even come close to beating Bonds and his 73 home runs.)

Steroid-era statistics aside, 50 home runs alone would be more than enough to win an MVP award nowadays. Ryan Braun won in 2011 with 33, and Pujols won in 2008 with 37. He has a sizable margin of error in terms of home runs.

He will, however, have to improve on last year's .299 average and 99 RBIs. Now that he has joined the American League, Pujols will be competing with Miguel Cabrera, Evan Longoria, Josh Hamilton and all of the first basemen I named on the previous slide.

But don't worry Angels fans. He'll bring the AL MVP award to the Big A for the first time since Vladimir Guerrero did in 2004.

He'll Win His First World Series MVP Award

For everybody that just read between the lines there, yes, the final bold prediction includes the Los Angeles Angels winning the 2012 World Series.

It'll be a nice 10-year-anniversary present from Pujols, who will finally play well enough to win Series MVP honors. In his previous World Series, Pujols was overshadowed by the likes of David Eckstein and David Freese (and by Manny Ramirez in 2004, when the St. Louis Cardinals were swept by the Boston Red Sox).

With the exception of this year's three-homer game against the Texas Rangers, Pujols has been relatively quiet in the World Series. Take out that one game, and he only has two RBIs and one home run in 15 World Series contests. That will all change this year when he hits 10 home runs and drives in 20 during the—alright, maybe I'm getting carried away.

What happens this season remains to be seen. Maybe Pujols has a career year in his new home and leads the Halos to a championship. Maybe he has a disappointing season, and all of his critics are proven right. Or, maybe he has a typically amazing year, but for one reason or another, the Angels don't have the same success as a team.

Signing Pujols to a 10-year contract was a bold move. Let's see if Pujols can respond to that in not only bold, but underlined with CAPS LOCK and italics just for style. If he can, it will be a fun year for Angels fans.