5 American League Players Who Need to Have a Huge Week

The marathon that is the Major League Baseball season will take another small step forward this week. The question, as always, is which teams and which players are going to light up the headlines.

In the American League, there are a handful of players who need to string together some strong performances for good reasons. Some players in the AL are slumping entering this week, and some find themselves with a lot to prove over the next seven days.

A long list of players comes to mind, but here's a countdown of five AL players who need to have a big week.

Let's start the show.

Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, Boston Red Sox

Something's up with Adrian Gonzalez. The Boston Red Sox's star first baseman has been invisible for much of the season, and that's not a good thing for a Red Sox team that needs as many positive headlines as it can get.

Sunday was by far the worst day of Gonzo's 2012 season. He went 0-for-8 in Boston's 17-inning loss to the Baltimore Orioles, leaving eight men on base in the process. He finished his day by striking out against Chris Davis, a first baseman, in the bottom of the 17th when there were two runners on board.

I gave him a "Worst of the Night" award. It was an easy call to make.

Gonzalez has been slumping for a while. He hit his second home run of the season on April 17th and had upped his batting average to .318. Since then, he hasn't hit a single home run and his average has fallen all the way to .264. His 0-fer on Sunday obviously didn't help.

In May, Gonzo has six hits in 25 at-bats, and the Sox have lost all five games they've played. They need a pick-me-up, and Gonzalez is the perfect guy to give it to them.

The good news for the Sox is that it was right around this time last year that Gonzalez blew up and hit seven home runs in nine games.

Doug Fister, SP, Detroit Tigers

Doug Fister managed to last 3.2 innings in his first start of the season, and he hasn't been seen since due to a stint on the disabled list with a strained left side.

While Fister was gone, Detroit's starting rotation went through plenty of ups and downs, and more downs than ups. Aside from Justin Verlander and Drew Smyly, it's been an adventure.

Fister is returning to the mound on Monday night against the Seattle Mariners, according to MLive.com. Facing the weak-hitting Mariners is the perfect excuse for Fister to get himself on a roll, and he'll have another chance to start this week on Saturday against the Oakland Athletics, another weak-hitting club.

If Fister performs well in his two starts, the Tigers will get a boost in confidence. As long as he stays healthy, it will be just a matter of time before they're back atop the AL Central.

But we'll see. Fister hasn't pitched in over a month, so it may take a while for him to shake off the rust. 

Matt Harrison, SP, Texas Rangers

When Matt Harrison last won a game, he had an ERA of 1.66 and the Texas Rangers had a record of 12-2.

That was on April 21st. Since then, Harrison has lost two starts in a row while allowing 14 earned runs, and the Rangers have gone 6-8 to fall to 18-10.

A return to earth was inevitable for the Rangers, but they can't let it last for long. They need to get back on track, and that's a process that will start with a four-game series at Baltimore this week.

Harrison will be on the mound for the first game, and he's scheduled to pitch again against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday. He therefore has a shot to lead the Rangers to a win over the best team in the American League (record-wise) and a division foe.

Harrison hasn't missed many bats in his last two starts, as he's given up 22 hits in just 8.1 innings. If he continues to struggle, the Rangers are going to be in trouble.

Albert Pujols, 1B, Los Angeles Angels

Albert Pujols finally hit his first home run in a Los Angeles Angels uniform on Sunday, snapping a homerless drought that had Angels fans and fantasy geeks alike scrambling to churches to say a few prayers.

Hats off to Pujols. It wasn't fun to watch him struggling, in part because he's so much more fun to watch when he's crushing the ball and in part because he's a great guy.

Now all he has to do is keep the homers coming. After all, one home run does not equal a hot streak.

Pujols has been the absolute opposite of hot (see "cold") lately. Over the last 14 days, his batting average is .128, lowest in the American League among qualified hitters. And though he finally hit a home run on Sunday, it doesn't bode well for him that it came on a curveball on the outside corner that he tried to pull. He's been trying to pull everything this year, and it hasn't been working.

My gut tells me that Pujols is going to take off now that he's gotten his first home run out of the way. But then again, my gut told me that he'd be as good as ever this season.

David Robertson, RP, New York Yankees

Joe Girardi hasn't officially decided to use David Robertson as his closer in place of Mariano Rivera, but Girardi did indicate last week (see ESPNNewYork.com) that he's leaning towards Robertson.

As well he should be. Robertson is the Yankees' top reliever now that Mo is gone, and he most definitely has the nasty stuff to handle the ninth.

So far this year, Robertson has 21 strikeouts in 12 innings pitched, and he's actually struck out each of the last eight batters he's faced. Girardi could not ask for a better replacement for the great Mariano Rivera.

Robertson is bound to get some save chances this week as the Yankees prepare to take on the Tampa Bay Rays and Seattle Mariners in a brief six-game homestand. He can ease a lot of minds by converting the save chances he is given.

If Robertson shows that he doesn't have the mental fortitude to handle the ninth, the Yanks are going to be in huge trouble moving forward.

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