Freddy Garcia and More American League Players Who Need to Have a Big Week

The first half of the 2012 regular season will come to an end this week. After this week comes the All-Star Game, the trade deadline, the Dog Days and then, finally, the brutal battleground that is the month of September.

But first things first. Baseball is a one-day-at-a-time sport. The future can wait.

There are seven days' worth of baseball left to be played between now and the All-Star break, and every player in the league is looking to use them to end the first half on a positive note.

Some, however, must end the first half on a strong note.

New York Yankees hurler Freddy Garcia comes to mind. Due to circumstances beyond his control, Garcia will be starting for the first time since the month of April on Monday, and he'll make one more start before the week is over. He failed to make it out of the second inning in each of his last two starts, and it suffices to say that the Yankees can't have that happen again.

Garcia's not the only AL player under some pressure to perform well this week. Here's a look at a few more who are in the same boat.

Note: All stats come courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

Wei-Yin Chen, SP, Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles are an entire team of unsung heroes, but the most unsung hero of the bunch is probably lefty starter Wei-Yin Chen.

Chen has had his ups and downs this season, but the Orioles will gladly take his seven wins and his 3.73 ERA. They also know they're going to get at least five innings out of Chen whenever he takes the mound—something that cannot be said of several other starters Buck Showalter has been forced to use this year.

Chen is lined up for a rough week, though. He's going to make two starts, and neither of them is going to be easy.

Chen is slated to face the light-hitting Seattle Mariners on Tuesday at Safeco Field. That's not a tough assignment in and of itself, but Felix Hernandez is scheduled to be the opposing starting pitcher. He's allowed a grand total of two earned runs in his last three starts and is coming off a complete-game shutout of the Boston Red Sox in which he struck out 13.

It won't get any easier for Chen when he takes the mound on Sunday against the Los Angeles Angels. They finished the month of June as one of the top scoring teams in the league, which is no real surprise given how well Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and Mark Trumbo hit the ball all month.

In that game, Chen is scheduled to square off against Dan Haren. He hasn't been his usual self this season, but he's still very much capable of hurling a gem in a given game.

So Chen better have his best stuff this week. If he doesn't, the O's are going to have a tough time pulling out of the tailspin they're in.

Freddy Garcia, SP, New York Yankees

Freddy Garcia's last start came all the way back on April 28. In it, he allowed six earned runs on five hits and two walks in 1.2 innings against the Detroit Tigers. The start before, he had allowed five earned runs on seven hits in 1.2 innings against the Boston Red Sox.

Joe Girardi had seen enough after Garcia's start against the Tigers, and he proceeded to use the veteran righty sparingly as a reliever in May and June. 

Credit where credit is due, Garcia did perform well coming out of the bullpen, going 2-0 with a 1.56 ERA in 10 appearances.

So...Perhaps there's hope for him as he prepares to reestablish himself as a starting pitcher this week?

The Yankees obviously hope so. They don't have a choice, really, as Garcia is one of few in-house options to pick up starts while CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte are on the disabled list. 

Garcia's first assignment isn't all that tough. He'll face the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night at Tropicana Field. The Rays are having a ton of trouble scoring runs these days, and they've lost six of their last seven games overall. Facing them is a perfect way for Garcia to ease his way back into starting duty.

His next start, however...not so much.

After taking on the Rays on Monday, Garcia is slated to face the Red Sox at Fenway Park. The Red Sox can score runs with the best of 'em, and they had no problems lighting up Garcia the last time he faced them.

Good luck in that one, Freddy. You're gonna need it.

Justin Morneau, 1B, Minnesota Twins

Not a whole lot of people noticed, but the Twins had a pretty good month of June. They went 14-13, tying them with Detroit and Kansas City for the best record in the AL Central in the month of June.

Not that it matters, of course. The Twins aren't going anywhere this year, especially not while Justin Morneau is struggling so mightily to hit the ball.

Morneau enters this week 17 for his last 70, with just four extra-base hits and two RBI. He hasn't homered since way back on June 4, a span of 21 games.

Again, it's not like the Twins have to worry about winning the division this year, but they do need Morneau to pick it up at the plate. Otherwise, they're not going to be able to deal him at the trade deadline. Not for anything significant, anyway.

As Joe Christensen of the Star Tribune pointed out, Morneau's trade value is pretty much nonexistent at the moment. It was going to be hard enough for the Twins to deal him given his injury history, but dealing him now while he's struggling at the plate is pretty much impossible.

The Twins will be able to deal Morneau for a solid prospect or two if he starts hitting again. And make no mistake, trading him is very much in their interest. Morneau can do them a big favor by getting warm again.

Obviously, all of this is out of Morneau's control. He's not going to start hitting simply because it would be convenient for the front office if he did.

A hot stretch, however, would be convenient for the team itself, which will end the first half with a seven-game road swing through Detroit and Texas. The Twins are going to need some production out of Morneau to avoid embarrassing themselves.

Mark Reynolds, 3B/1B, Baltimore Orioles

Mark Reynolds was never a great hitter to begin with, but this is ridiculous.

Reynolds has zero hits in his last 17 at-bats and just two hits in his last 32 at-bats overall. The hot stretch he was on in the early part of June now feels like a distant memory.

You may not be surprised to hear this, but the Orioles are a much better team when Reynolds is hitting. They're 28-27 in games in which he's played. In the 28 wins, he's hit .263 with five homers and 16 RBI. In the 27 losses, he's hit .146 with one homer and six RBI.

The Orioles are 3-8 in the last 11 games in which Reynolds has played.

That's the kind of year it's been for Reynolds so far. He's having by far the worst year of his career, and the Orioles have very much felt the effects.

This is a good week for Reynolds to snap out of it. He has the power to tame Safeco Field, and any and all offense he can muster against the Angels will very much be welcome.

If Reynolds fails to show up again this week, Showalter will have every excuse to stash him on the bench in the second half of the season. Reynolds has done enough damage already as it is.

B.J. Upton, CF, Tampa Bay Rays

Speaking of guys who aren't hitting, B.J. Upton is currently mired in one of his trademark slumps.

Since June 20, Upton has four hits in 44 at-bats, with no extra-base hits and a single RBI. He enjoyed a fruitful stretch of games in early June in which he hit .351 over nine contests, but he's plummeted back to earth since then.

This latest slump couldn't have come at a worse time. The Rays have lost six of seven and nine of their last 12 games overall, and their slumping offense is largely to blame. They've scored three runs or fewer in nine of their last 12 games.

In the meantime, the Rays have fallen all the way to fourth place in the AL East, and they enter the week 7.5 games behind the first-place Yankees.

The Rays will host the Yankees for three games to start the week, so they'll have a chance to chip away at their AL East deficit. They need Upton to help, and you might say he's due for some success against the Bombers seeing as how he's hitting just .217 with a .579 OPS against them this season.

After the Rays face the Yankees, they'll take on the Cleveland Indians and their highly unpredictable starting pitching staff. The Indians have some hittable starters, and that will be Upton's cue to heat things up.

The Rays absolutely need Upton to heat up again because all bets are off with Evan Longoria. Somebody has to step it up and carry the offense until Longo returns, and Upton is one of very few players on whom Joe Maddon can place his hopes.

A Few More

Jason Hammel, SP, Baltimore Orioles

Like Chen, Jason Hammel is also scheduled to make two starts for the Orioles this week. He'll be looking to bounce back from a bad start his last outing, in which he gave up eight earned runs against the Los Angeles Angels. And of course, he'll be trying to give people some incentive to vote him into the All-Star Game.

Dan Haren, SP, Los Angeles Angels

Dan Haren's last four starts haven't gone so well. He managed to win three of them, but he gave up 20 earned runs in 22.2 innings in the process. You get the sense that he very much needs a breather, but he has two starts to make before he can relax during the All-Star break.

Adam Jones, CF, Baltimore Orioles

Adam Jones has yet to fall into a true slump this season, but he's in something of a home run drought right now. He's hit a single home run in his last 17 games, 10 of which resulted in Baltimore losses. Coincidence? I think not.

Will Middlebrooks, 3B, Boston Red Sox

Will Middlebrooks hasn't exactly lit the world on fire since Kevin Youkilis was traded. He's four for his last 27, with a single home run and three RBI. He needs to reward Boston's faith in him better than that.

Matt Moore, SP, Tampa Bay Rays

Matt Moore has been as inconsistent as they come this season, but he'll have two very good chances to end the first half of the season on a positive note. He's slated to square off against Freddy Garcia and Ubaldo Jimenez this week, two very beatable opponents.

Mike Napoli, C, Texas Rangers

Mike Napoli is seven for his last 31 with no home runs. The Rangers don't need him to hit in order to win, but it would be nice to see him do something this week to show the people of the nation that he actually deserves to be an All-Star starter. 

Cory Wade, RP, New York Yankees

Cory Wade is going through a pretty rough stretch. In his last six outings, he's blown two saves and given up 13 earned runs in 5.1 innings. With the Yankees' starting pitching thin at the moment, Wade needs to snap out of it.

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