Every MLB Team's Hitter Who Better Have a Huge May

Now a month into the 2012 MLB season, it's time to take a look at the players who underperformed during the month of April.

Everyone is allowed a slow start—just ask Albert Pujols—but when does a slow start become a bad season?

On this list you will find superstar sluggers, leadoff speedsters and bottom-of-the-lineup grinders who have all played well below their potential during the first month of the MLB season.

Let's check out who needs to get hot in May for their squad: 

*All stats compiled prior to games played on April 30.

Justin Upton, Arizona Diamondbacks

After leading the Arizona Diamondbacks in batting average, home runs, RBI, on-base percentage and hits just a season ago, Justin Upton has seen a slow start in April 2012.

He has just 14 hits in 62 at-bats (.230) and has just one home run and three RBI in the month of April.

If it weren't for hot starts by Jason Kubel and Chris Young, Upton and the Diamondbacks would find themselves at the bottom of the NL West.

As we saw last season, Upton's success is instrumental to the Diamondbacks lineup, especially as the No. 3 hitter.

Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves

Despite a slow start by Brian McCann, the Atlanta Braves are still first in the NL East.

He has jacked three homers and driven in nine RBI, but he's hitting just .242 out of the cleanup spot in the Braves lineup, an important position between Freeman and Uggla.

He hit .304 with four homers and 15 RBI in the month of May last season, something Atlanta is hoping for again in 2012.

The Braves can't rely on just Freeman and Uggla for the entire season. McCann needs to get it going in Atlanta.

Nick Markakis, Baltimore Orioles

If the Baltimore Orioles are going to remain atop the AL East, they'll need Nick Markakis to start hitting out of the No. 3 spot in the lineup.

Markakis is hitting .244 with just two home runs and nine RBI and has left Jones, Wieters and Davis to do most of the work.

There's no doubt Baltimore has a great offense (I recently ranked them No. 7 in the MLB), but they'll need every bat they can get to contend with the other clubs in the AL East.

Markakis hit .284 with 15 HR and 73 RBI in 2011, so we know he has the potential to produce for Baltimore. 

Kevin Youkilis, Boston Red Sox

Whether he did it to scrutinize Kevin Youkilis or light a fire under his behind, Bobby V's comments on Youkilis' play haven't paid off.

Youk is just 14-for-64 (.219) to go along with two home runs and nine RBI through April, and he posts an OBP lower than .300.

Though his average wasn't much higher (.218), April 2011 saw Youkilis hit five homers and drive in 15 runs, while posting a much higher OBP of .392.

He's a career .288 hitter and isn't really known as a slow starter, so I'm not really sure what to make of Youk's early play.

Regardless, he hits in the middle of the order and plays an important role in the Red Sox run production, making his slow start all the more threatening to Boston.

Alfonso Soriano, Chicago Cubs

Where did Alfonso Soriano's power go?

With Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Pena no longer in Chicago, Soriano becomes the main source of power, aside from Bryan LaHair, who has four home runs this season.

Soriano has yet to hit one out and is hitting just .236 with a .250 OBP, and he has just one extra base hit in 72 at-bats.

He hit 10 homers alone in the month of April last season at the age of 35.

Though he ranks third on the team in RBI with 11, Soriano hasn't given the fans many reasons to get out of their seats, or many reasons to come to Wrigley Field. 

Alexei Ramirez, Chicago White Sox

The Chicago White Sox have seen solid starts from Konerko, Rios, Pierzynski and Dunn, but one guy who has yet to get hot is Alexei Ramirez.

A career .276 hitter, Ramirez is batting just .207 with one homer and six RBI in 87 ABs.

He's drawn just three walks in 2012, making his OBP a mere .233 while striking out 15 times and scoring just six runs.

The White Sox don't rely on Ramirez to drive in runs—he's never driven in more than 77 runs in his career—but they do expect him to reach base and score runs, which is something he hasn't done in April.

Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati Reds

April 2011 saw Brandon Phillips hit .360 with three home runs and 13 RBI. April 2012 has Phillips hitting more than 100 points less at .254, with two HR and seven RBI.

Lefties have really halted Phillips so far in 2011, as he's hitting .58 against southpaws, opposed to .300 against righties in the earlygoing.

This is not the play the Cincinnati Reds expected after signing Phillips to a six-year, $72.5 million extension.

He hit .300 with 18 HR and 82 RBI in 2011, which apparently made the Reds comfortable with offering the 30-year-old second baseman the large extension.

Let's hope May is a better month for both Phillips and Cincinnati. 

Asdrubal Cabrera, Cleveland Indians

The entire Cleveland Indians club lacks a .300 hitter, and shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera is one of them.

He has a solid average of .286 but has driven in just four runs in the third spot of Cleveland's lineup.

Cabrera has hit just two home runs this month after hitting five during the month of April last season.

The Indians' two through six hitters all have posted double-digit RBI numbers, except for Cabrera.

He'll need to get hot during the month of May if Cleveland wants to remain in first in the AL Central.

Marco Scutaro, Colorado Rockies

He hasn't been bad this season, but as the leadoff hitter for the Colorado Rockies, Marco Scutaro needs to improve his offense throughout the rest of the season.

He's got a .307 OBP but is hitting just .247 (20-81) with one RBI.and four extra base hits.

He has scored 13 runs and drawn five walks but needs to raise his average and get on base more.

He has great hitters like Troy Tulowitzki, Carlos Gonzalez, Michael Cuddyer and Todd Helton behind him, but he needs to reach base safely so the Rockies can climb back into the NL West.

Alex Avila, Detroit Tigers

Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera have essentially carried the Tigers' offense through the month of April, and one guy who can help throughout the rest of the season is Alex Avila.

We know about Austin Jackson and Brennan Boesch, but Avila is a guy who provides a solid bat with power towards the lower portion of the Tigers lineup; he just hasn't done it yet this season.

Avila is hitting .220 with three home runs and eight RBI through the month of April, which is pretty decent.

But we know he can do more—he hit .295 with 19 HR and 82 RBI in 2011—and that's why I think he needs to get hot come May.

The Tigers are working their way toward first place in the AL Central and will benefit from a hot-hitting Avila in the lower-third of the lineup.

Carlos Lee, Houston Astros

The outstanding play of left fielder J.D. Martinez has aided the Houston Astros and Carlos Lee, who hasn't been as productive as we're accustomed to seeing.

Granted, it's only one month into the season, and Lee's average is decent at .273, but his power numbers aren't there.

He has hit just two home runs and is slugging .390, 100 points lower than his career average.

Furthermore, Lee has scored just four runs and has just five extra base hits in 77 ABs.

If Houston doesn't want to finish last in the division, Lee will need to get the offense going, especially since he's the cleanup hitter.

Jeff Francoeur, Kansas City Royals

For a team that was supposed to look like a contender, it's been a rough start to the 2012 season for the Kansas City Royals.

Eric Hosmer is still adjusting to the big leagues, while Jeff Francoeur is struggling at the plate, hitting just .229 with an OBP of .273.

Francoeur is a big part of the Royals lineup, hitting in the No. 5 slot behind Hosmer, but he has just three RBIs and no home runs.

Francoeur's performance could be a direct result of the slow start by Hosmer, but whatever it is, both of these guys need to figure it out.

Billy Butler can't carry this offense all season long—someone else on the Royals has to step up.

Albert Pujols, Los Angeles Angels

When will the power outage in Los Angeles end?

While I do think people are making too much of a big deal about Albert Pujols' struggles, his numbers are pretty poor for Pujols' standards.

He's hitting just .216 with four RBI, and as you already know, he has yet to send one over the wall for the Angels.

What's even worse is that Pujols has drawn just six walks. Add that to 19-for-88 at the plate, and you get a low .266 OBP.

This is Albert Pujols we're talking about—he's going to figure it out—but it is puzzling to watch Pujols at the plate right now.

James Loney, Los Angeles Dodgers

James Loney has never been a power guy—the most home runs he's ever hit in a season is 15—but he has been a big contributor to the Los Angeles Dodgers offense the past five seasons.

So far in 2012, Loney has been struggling, posting a .227 batting average and hitting one home run and six RBI.

The six RBI are low for a guy who drove in 90 in 2008 and 2009, 88 in 2010 and 65 last season.

If guys start pitching around Kemp and Ethier, the Dodgers will need Loney to step up and drive in runs like he was doing in '08 and '09.

For now, the Dodgers' offense looks solid, but they can't rely on Kemp to play this well all season. Loney needs to get it together.

Jose Reyes, Miami Marlins

The Miami Marlins went out and acquired Jose Reyes to be a catalyst for the offense, but he was quite the opposite during the month of April.

He's barely hitting above .200 (16-for-78) and has contributed a mere three RBI and scored just six runs while failing to hit a homer in the first month of the season.

Hanley Ramirez—who had his shortstop position stolen by Reyes—has played a lot better than Reyes thus far, if you discount his average.

He's been more productive, hitting four home runs and driving in 13 runs, while scoring 11 himself.

Is it too late for Hanley to get his position back?

Aramis Ramirez, Milwaukee Brewers

Aramis Ramirez was signed by the Milwaukee Brewers to attempt to fill the shoes of Prince Fielder (a hard enough task) and has yet to do so.

At this point in the season in 2011, Fielder had six homers and 26 RBI, and was hitting .333. Ramirez is currently batting .228 with two home runs and 10 RBI.

Now, it's not fair to compare Ramirez to Fielder, but still, his numbers are pretty poor to start the season, especially his .279 OBP.

As the cleanup hitter, Ramirez needs to be more productive, especially being sandwiched by Ryan Braun and Corey Hart.

Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins

Justin Morneau is still coming back from a concussion, and it'd be nice to see him get back to where he was before the injury.

His last complete season of play saw him hit 30 homers and drive in 100 RBI, something the Twins are hoping Morneau can work towards.

So far this season, he's hitting .236 with a respectable four home runs and nine RBI, also scoring nine runs and posting a .321 OBP.

Morneau has been decent so far this season, but for the Twins to make some noise in the AL Central, they need a healthy Morneau to go out there and slug.

Ike Davis, New York Mets

Ike Davis can't wait to see the month of April end.

He's hitting a mere .169 with three homers and eight RBI, with an OBP (.229) that's lower than most players' batting average.

As if that's not bad enough, Davis ranks tied for sixth in the NL in strikeouts with 24 Ks in 77 ABs, and he has scored just four runs the entire season. 

For now, enough guys have stepped up for the Mets during Davis' draught, but they'll need Davis to get hot and provide some hits toward the bottom third of the lineup if they want to make some noise in the NL East.

Robinson Cano, New York Yankees

He's arguably the best second baseman in the MLB, but Robinson Cano doesn't look like it at the plate right now.

He's averaging .264 at the plate with one home run and just four RBI. He's hit out of the cleanup spot some for the Yankees in the early going, a spot in the lineup where New York has had issues driving in runs.

Yankees fans know that Cano heats up during the summer months, so there's not much to worry about here.

Still, it would benefit the Yankees immensely for Cano to heat up, as he's the best hitter in the Bronx, in my opinion.

Kurt Suzuki, Oakland Athletics

As if his .221 batting average isn't bad enough, Kurt Suzuki has yet to draw a walk in 2012, making his OBP a minuscule .228.

Suzuki has been a disappointment so far this season, failing to hit a home run so far and scoring just three runs.

While he has driven in eight runs, you can combine his runs scored and RBI, and you still wouldn't get a number higher than his strikeout total.

Yoenis Cespedes is the only Oakland player with double-digit RBI totals, and he can't do it alone.

Suzuki has shown power and the ability to drive in runs in the past; he just hasn't done it yet in 2012. 

Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia Phillies

Perhaps Jimmy Rollins' age is starting to show, because he hasn't looked like the J-Roll most MLB fans are used to.

He's just 18-for-81 (.222) with five RBI and eight runs in 2012 to go with zero home runs and just three extra-base hits.

As the leadoff hitter for the Philadelphia Phillies, Rollins has drawn only five walks and shows a lowly OBP of .264.

Rollins' play pretty much mirrors the entire Phillies squad, who miss the bats of Ryan Howard and Chase Utley.

I don't care who it is—Rollins, Pence or Victorino. Someone needs to get hot in Philly. 

Neil Walker, Pittsburgh Pirates

Overall, the Pittsburgh Pirates' lineup hasn't been very impressive.

You could pretty much make a case for any Pirate not named Andrew McCutchen.

McCutchen is the only player hitting better than .300 and could use some help from his teammates, including Neil Walker.

Walker drove in 83 RBI last season while hitting .273 and scoring 76 runs, so by those standards, he struggled this April.

Walker is batting .254 with just five RBI and three runs scored. He knocked in 19 RBI during the month of May in 2011, so be on the lookout for Walker in May 2012.

Yonder Alonso, San Diego Padres

The high hopes for Yonder Alonso have yet to show themselves for the San Diego Padres in 2012.

Alonso is hitting just .236 with three RBI and no home runs to his name, and he has scored just three runs during the month of April.

The first baseman made a name for himself when he hit .330 with five home runs and 15 RBI in just 88 ABs for the Cincinnati Reds last season.

The Padres' offense has been poor to start the season and could use a jolt with the help of a hot Alonso beginning in May.

Angel Pagan, San Francisco Giants

For a leadoff man, Angel Pagan's numbers need to improve.

He has hit an impressive four home runs out of the No. 1 slot, but a .281 OBP will not cut it at the top of the lineup.

Furthermore, Pagan has just two stolen bases through April after swiping 32 for the New York Mets last season.

Posey, Sandoval and Cabrera have all played well so far, but they need Pagan to get on base to create more run-scoring opportunities for the Giants.

If Pagan can get hot during the month of May, San Francisco has a chance to gain some ground on the NL West-leading Dodgers.

Chone Figgins, Seattle Mariners

For a leadoff hitter with the speed that Chone Figgins has, he should have a lot more than two stolen bases and a .292 OBP.

The Seattle Mariners know they're not going to get any power numbers from Figgins, but they do expect him to score runs and steal bases, and he's not doing that.

Granted, Seattle doesn't have the greatest offense, but Figgins is still only hitting .225 (18-for-80) and has struck out 22 times in 2012.

Figgins is the type of player who sparks an offense, and he's not doing that, which could be why I ranked the Mariners' offense No. 19 in my lineup rankings. 

Matt Holliday, St. Louis Cardinals

Where's the Matt Holliday from the Colorado Rockies? You know, the guy who drove in 137 runs and had more than 200 hits in 2007.

Though Holliday isn't the player he once was, he's still a big part of what the St. Louis Cardinals do offensively.

The Cards have come out blazing since winning the World Series, with Freese, Molina, Furcal and Beltran all playing well, but Holliday has struggled.

He has four home runs and 13 RBI, but he's hitting just .215 and has an OBP of .277, a far cry from his career .385 OBP.

As the No. 3 hitter in the Cardinals' lineup, Holliday needs to improve his numbers at the plate to create more opportunities for Beltran and Freese behind him.

B.J. Upton, Tampa Bay Rays

B.J. Upton recently returned to the Tampa Bay Rays' lineup after suffering a back injury during spring training, which is good news for the Rays, who are contending in the AL East.

Upton has been a crucial piece of Tampa's playoff pushes and success, and they'll benefit from him coming back if he can find his power stroke in May.

He hit 23 homers and drove in 81 runs last season and has been off to a great start since returning from the DL.

He's 9-for-26 (.346) with one HR and seven RBI since returning to the lineup on April 20.

The speed of Upton and Desmond Jennings atop the Rays' lineup will be killer for opposing pitchers and defenses.

Nelson Cruz, Texas Rangers

Looking at the Texas Rangers lineup and statistics, it's hard to find a guy who hasn't played well during the first month of the season.

If I have to point the finger, it'd have to be at Nelson Cruz, whose average sits at .247 so far in 2012.

It's not only his average, but his power numbers haven't been there yet either. Cruz hit seven homers last April but has just two to his name in April 2012.

Still, Cruz has an OBP of .312, has driven in 10 runs and has scored 10 himself for a Rangers squad that leads all of baseball in runs.

Cruz slowed down in May 2011—seven home runs in April, three in May and eight in June—so it'll be interesting to see if he can get it going in May 2012. 

Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays

It's not quite the draught Albert Pujols is currently enduring, but Jose Bautista has seen a bit of a power outage himself.

After launching nine home runs last April, Bautista has just three in April 2012, leaving fantasy owners scratching their heads.

But it's not like Bautista isn't hitting homers; he's not hitting at all.

He's 15-for-79 (.190) at the plate and has driven in just 10 RBI after leading the team last season with 103.

The good news for Bautista is that he's still getting on base and drawing walks, as he has 16 BB in April.

It's only a matter of time before Bautista starts launching them out of the Rogers Centre. My guess is the party starts in May.

Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals

Ryan Zimmerman has been struggling in the early going of the 2012, but now that Bryce Harper has been called up to the Washington Nationals, I think he needs to get hot in May.

There's been so much buzz surrounding Harper that many are counting on him to come to the big league and start performing ASAP, which isn't fair on his part.

If Harper is going to have a successful 2012 campaign in Washington, he needs to gain confidence quick by getting hits and winning ball games.

Through two games, he's 2-for-6 with an RBI and a walk, and has looked good in the outfield.

If Harper plays well and injects some of his rookie energy into the Nationals, who are already surging, they'll have a great shot at retaining the NL East lead throughout the season.

Follow Pete Schauer on Twitter @Pete_Schauer