10 Biggest Takeaways from Week 10's MLB Action

The 2015 Major League Baseball season is ticking along. In fact, it's made it to double digits, as it's now 10 weeks old.

This calls for our usual celebration. Round up the big storylines and dig in.

The action on the field this week was characteristically all sorts of fun, so it wasn't hard to pinpoint another 10 storylines worthy of immediate discussion. There's one scorching-hot team out there, as well as one ice-cold squad. Likewise, there's a fine collection of hot and cold players who demand our attention.

We'll go in order from least interesting to most interesting. Step into the box whenever you're ready.

10. Joey Votto Reminds Us He's a Superb Hitter

There aren't many reasons to watch the Cincinnati Reds these days. They're not a good team, and they'll be even worse if they hold the fire sale that many think is inevitable.

But as he reminded us this week, Joey Votto's at-bats are definitely worth tuning in for.

The veteran first baseman had one of the best games of his career Tuesday night in an 11-2 thrashing of the Philadelphia Phillies at Great American Ballpark, going 3-for-4 with three dingers. It was the third three-homer game of his career, putting him with Johnny Bench as the only two Reds in that club.

Cool history aside, Votto's three-homer outburst is part of a strong June. Though he took an 0-fer in the Reds' 5-4 win over the Chicago Cubs, he went into the contest OPS'ing 1.320 with four homers in the month. This is after OPS'ing just .707 with two homers in May.

And overall, he's washing away an injury-marred 2014 with a hell of a season. Votto is OPS'ing .954 with 13 home runs, putting him among the National League's five best hitters. Which, for the record, is the same place he's been in since 2007.

Despite the flak he occasionally gets, let this be your reminder that Votto is quite good at hitting baseballs.

9. Albert Pujols Status: Still Chasing History, Still Scorching

When we checked in with Albert Pujols last week, he had clearly awoken from the slumber he'd been in through the first two months of 2015.

The latest update: Yup, he's still awake.

The Los Angeles Angels slugger has crushed three home runs in five games since Sunday, running his season total 17 and his career total to 537. For those keeping score, that puts him ahead of Mickey Mantle at 16th place on the all-time home run list.

And Pujols doesn't look like he's finished climbing. He entered Friday's action with a 1.350 OPS and nine home runs in his previous 13 games, which he sees as production that he had coming all along.

"I've been swinging the bat well all year long, and if you stay with that approach, sooner or later they're going to fall," the 35-year-old slugger told Michael Kolligian of MLB.com.

It also helps that Pujols is making louder contact. Per Baseball Savant, his batted balls have gone from averaging 91.2 mph off the bat through May 27 to over 94 mph ever since.

In other words: Yeah, he really is this hot.

8. Matt Harvey Is Human

Mike Stobe/Getty Images

On May 18, Matt Harvey pitched eight shutout innings with nine strikeouts and one walk. At that point, he had a 1.98 ERA for the season and a 2.31 ERA and a ratio of 4.9 strikeouts to one walk in 44 career starts.

In four starts since, however, the New York Mets ace owns a 7.20 ERA and has given up eight home runs and 27 hits in 25 innings. The latest of these was the low point, as Harvey gave up seven earned runs on nine hits, three homers and only two strikeouts Wednesday against the San Francisco Giants.

Given that he missed all of 2014 recovering from Tommy John surgery, this doesn't look good. And upon closer inspection, something did indeed appear to be off.

But Harvey doesn't want anyone freaking out about his health, telling Adam Rubin of ESPN.com that he wasn't going to use that as an excuse. Rather, he chalked his struggles up to sloppy location.

Fortunately, the Mets think they've gotten to the bottom of that. Kevin Kernan of the New York Post reports that extra work with pitching coach Dan Warthen uncovered a mechanical problem that needs correcting.

Regardless, his last four starts have taught us something: The Dark Knight of Gotham is human after all.

7. Meanwhile, Giancarlo Stanton Is Not Human

And now for something you already knew but is worth bringing up anyway: Giancarlo Stanton is not of this earth.

In five games this week, the 25-year-old Miami Marlins slugger is 10-for-19 with four home runs. That gives him a league-leading 22 for the season and puts him on pace to hit well over 50.

That would smash Stanton's current career high of 37, and he should get it done if he stays healthy. He's hitting for power at a career-best rate, and it is laughable how much harder he hits the ball than everyone else.

Tom Ley of Deadspin has some tidbits on that. He dove into Baseball Savant's data to note that Stanton's average exit velocity is the best in the baseball by more than three miles per hour over the next guy on the list (Joc Pederson). And entering Friday, Stanton had hit 13 balls at least 115 mph.

The player with the next most? Carlos Gonzalez...with three.

Thus concludes the latest "We Totally Aren't Worthy of Giancarlo Stanton" session.

6. Yasiel Puig Lives

Los Angeles Dodgers lightning-rod outfielder Yasiel Puig was nowhere to be seen for a while, as a troublesome hamstring injury kept him on the disabled list from April 25 to June 5.

But now he's back and looking every bit like the Puig that everyone knows and lov...well, knows and gawks at, anyway.

In five games since coming off the DL, Puig is 10-for-19 with three doubles and a home run. He looked especially like himself in a 7-6 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday, going 4-for-4 with a homer and a double.

The Dodgers have won four of five since Puig returned to the lineup, and that may not be accidental. Mark Saxon of ESPN.com writes that he has re-energized the Dodgers, and skipper Don Mattingly hinted there's something to the notion.

"We kind of sustained it for a while," he said, referring to the Dodgers' hot play in the early portion of Puig's absence, "then 10 days or so ago, we felt like we needed to get him back in the lineup."

Well, Puig is back. And so far, he looks as Puig as ever.

5. Get out of Chris Sale's Way

As recently as a couple of weeks ago, Chris Sale was doing just OK. The Chicago White Sox's left-handed ace had just a 4.36 ERA through seven starts, having allowed 41 hits in 43.1 innings.

But yeah...not anymore.

Sale's latest effort Monday featured total domination of the Houston Astros in a 3-1 win, limiting them to one run in eight innings with 14 strikeouts and one walk. With that, he has allowed only 17 hits and four earned runs (1.17 ERA) with 49 strikeouts and four walks in 30.2 innings over his last four starts.

Here's more from Bob Nightengale of USA Today: 

"

Sale joined Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax as the only pitcher since 1900 to produce three consecutive starts of 12 or more strikeouts while yielding no more than one run. He also is the first pitcher in the modern era to record at least 10 strikeouts in four consecutive starts while increasing his total each time...

"

As ESPN.com's Buster Olney noted, Sale is also the first pitcher since Randy Johnson in 2002 to rack up at least 20 swinging strikes in four straight games. That's fitting, as Nightengale's piece is all about Sale's longtime adoration of Johnson.

And we might as well say it: The way he's pitching right now, Sale is the closest thing today's game has to a modern-day Big Unit.

4. Carlos Correa Is Here, and He's Good

On Sunday, the Astros decided they couldn't wait any longer. Carlos Correa, arguably the best prospect in the minor leagues, needed to be with the big club.

Now here we are after Correa's first four games in the majors, and we can agree that he looks like he's going to be a good one.

The 20-year-old shortstop got rolling by going 4-for-12 with his first double, home run and stolen base in a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox, also making his presence felt on defense. None of this resulted in the Astros winning games, but Correa certainly made an impression.

"Good luck to everybody. He's very impressive," said White Sox skipper Robin Ventura, via Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. "Even watching him on the field, you see a kid that usually you will see some jitters or something. He's not rushed. Anybody that thinks he's rushed, he's not rushed to be up here. He's a Major League player, and he's going to give people fits for a long time."

As if to prove Ventura's point, Correa then starred in his first game at Minute Maid Park against the Seattle Mariners, going 1-for-4 with the second homer of his career.

It's a bit early to know for sure, but it looks like that's how things are going to be. Correa was the No. 1 pick in the 2012 draft, and he catapulted his way to the top of prospect rankings by hitting .313 with an .883 OPS, 28 homers and 54 steals in the minors.

Now he's in the majors, and he already looks like he belongs.

3. The Astros Are Falling from Orbit

Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

A little over a week ago, the Houston Astros were 34-20. That's a really good record, which was why everyone was singing their praises.

But now? Now things aren't so good.

Before they finally got off the schneid by routing Felix Hernandez and the Mariners Friday night, the Astros had lost seven in a row to drop their record to 34-27 and put their AL West lead in jeopardy. And it wasn't pretty, as they were outscored by 18 runs in the process.

That had much to do with Houston's offensive philosophy finally backfiring. The Astros have been mainly about hitting for power, which has generally been able to hide the reality that they're one of the worst teams in MLB at hitting for average and getting on base.

That power disappeared during their losing streak, as the Astros slugged just .310 with five home runs. That's compared to a .420 slugging percentage and 74 home runs in their first 54 games.

Fortunately, it's not as if the power bats have gone anywhere. The Astros just need to hope they stay more consistent.

2. Chris Heston Is Nasty

Before 2015, only his family, friends and San Francisco Giants diehards knew who Chris Heston was. But after what he did Tuesday, everyone knows who he is now.

Making only the 12th start of his career, Heston twirled a no-hitter against the Mets at Citi Field to lead the Giants to a 5-0 win. He hit three batters but also struck out 11 and walked nobody.

You can tell just by watching the video above that the 27-year-old rookie had some nasty stuff working for him, and all of that is relatively new. An offseason weight gain allowed him to add some extra oomph to his pitches, and said pitches have been more than ready for the majors ever since.

And as Mike Petriello of MLB.com wrote, never had Heston been more untouchable than Tuesday:

"

The Mets struck out 11 times, and when they did put the ball in play they averaged just 85.27 mph in exit velocity, per Statcast™. Not once did a Mets batted ball top 100 mph. It's not that Heston's defense wasn't there when he needed it to be; it's that he rarely needed it to be.

"

With only a 3.77 ERA to his name, Heston doesn't bear the mark of an ace. But as he showed Tuesday, he has the goods to be one on a good night.

1. Break Up the Blue Jays!

Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

Major League Baseball's teams can squabble all they want, but the real threat these days lies in the north. This enemy has been able to overwhelm all challengers, and it takes no prisoners.

No, not White Walkers. More like Blue Jays.

Toronto has won nine games in a row, pushing its record from 23-30 to a respective 32-30. The Blue Jays have done it convincingly too, as their win streak has seen them outscore their opponents by a staggering 39 runs.

That Toronto's pitching and defense have limited opponents to 3.4 runs per game has certainly been a factor, but it's the offense that's stealing the show. Through the first eight games of the streak, the unit was hitting at a .288 clip with a .488 slugging percentage, resulting in 7.1 runs per game. The Blue Jays then added 15 more hits and 13 more runs in a 13-10 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Friday.

And while nothing in long winning streaks tends to last, this actually might. Toronto's hot offense is stemming mainly from Josh Donaldson, Jose Reyes, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, who always figured to be at the heart of a lethal offense.

What's happened lately is thus a case of potential becoming reality. And because of that, the Blue Jays are going to be a team nobody wants to play even after they cool down.

Note: Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted/linked.