Albert Pujols and 5 Disappointing Stars Ready to Explode

As the 2012 season passes the quarter pole and heads into the month of June, it looks like we're starting to see what teams are made of.

The much-hyped Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Angels have underperformed, while teams like the Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Indians are definitely surpassing expectations.

The same can be said for individual players, as Albert Pujols is the most notable slugger to get off to a less-than-stellar start this season.

With his home run swing back in action, Pujols looks to have figured things out—as a number of other stars off to slow starts appear to be doing—proving that you can't keep a good thing down for too long.

Jose Bautista

Jose Bautista made a strong case for MVP honors in 2011 after leading the league in slugging, OPS and home runs, while posting a career-high .302 batting average and drawing over 100 walks.

He's hit 12 home runs in 2012 but has seen his numbers dip across the board and is batting only .230 through 45 games with Toronto.

Bautista does appear to be turning a corner, however, and is batting better than .360 over the past week to go along with seven RBI in 25 at-bats, so it could be a matter of time before the Toronto Blue Jays star is back to his old self.

Joe Mauer

The Minnesota Twins came into the 2012 season with relatively minimal expectations after finishing with the worst AL record in 2011.

Whenever they do turn things around, they'll need to have Joe Mauer behind the effort, and he's been relatively inconsistent since signing his massive contract, batting 22 points below his career average and showing basically no power.

He's batting only .276 for the month of May, but he's batting better than .500 over the past week and has seen his season average climb back over the .300 mark, thanks in part to a home run in Thursday night's tilt against the White Sox, just his second of the year.

Jose Reyes

2011 batting champ Jose Reyes turned many heads this past offseason when he opted to leave the New York Mets in favor of the new-look Miami Marlins and their new stadium.

He came into the season with a lot of expectations but is currently batting only .263 with no HRs and eight RBI with the Fins thanks to a very slow April.

Reyes is batting over .300 in May, and nearly .350 over the past week, and if his offense continues to climb, the Marlins will likely do the same in the NL East.

John Danks

When the Chicago White Sox opted to extend John Danks rather than entertain the idea of trading him and rebuilding, they certainly thought he'd be the cornerstone of a rotation that would hopefully do big things in the AL Central.

Danks got off to a low start in 2012, going 2-3 with an ERA over 6.00 in April. The team has fared better in his starts this month, going 3-1, with Danks shutting out the Chicago Cubs in his last start.

He's currently on the 15-day DL with shoulder soreness, but when he returns to the rotation in early June, he should be able to build off his last strong outing and help the Sox chase the Cleveland Indians in the AL Central.

Jimmy Rollins

After the dust settled in Philadelphia, Jimmy Rollins wasn't going anywhere (as was probably expected), signing a three-year, $33 million deal to remain with the Phillies.

Returning to the team Thursday night after a brief paternity leave, Rollins went 2-for-6 against the St. Louis Cardinals, showing that having the birth of his child out of his way might be all it takes free up his mind to concentrate on helping the Phillies lineup do what they know they can do.

Albert Pujols

Nobody felt as much pressure heading into 2012 as Albert Pujols, as can be expected after signing a $250 million contract to take the Los Angeles Angels to the next level.

Pujols certainly hadn't been himself, however, as he had only gone deep three times and was batting .220 prior to the past week. Since then, he's gone deep twice, including a 3-for-4 performance Thursday night against the Seattle Mariners in which he drove in a pair of runs.

With his home run Thursday night, he reached 450 for his career, becoming the fourth-youngest player to reach the feat.

We all knew his slump wouldn't last the whole year, so it shouldn't be a surprise that we're finally starting to see him do what he's used to.