Top of lineup to stay same

Manager Mike Scioscia sees no need for a front-end alignment, not with the way the Angels’ offense is rolling.

When Casey Kotchman returns from a concussion, most likely tonight, Scioscia will probably keep Reggie Willits, Chone Figgins and Orlando Cabrera in the top three lineup spots instead of using Willits and Figgins in the first and ninth spots.

When it became apparent Kotchman, who was hitting fifth, would be sidelined for at least a week after being injured on June 16, Scioscia dropped Cabrera from second to third, moved the middle of the order down a notch -- Vladimir Guerrero to fourth and Gary Matthews Jr. to fifth -- and used Willits and Figgins up top.

The Angels won five of six games over Houston and Pittsburgh with that lineup, so when Kotchman, who has missed seven games, returns, he will probably bat sixth behind Willits, Figgins, Cabrera, Guerrero and Matthews.

“We’ll stay with it until something else makes sense,” Scioscia said. “Reggie and Figgy bring a certain dimension to the team. As long as they’re setting the table, that’s vital to the middle of the order.”

Willits, who was 14 for 25 before going hitless in five at-bats Sunday, ranks third in the American League with a .343 average and is second with a .439 on-base percentage. Figgins is hitting .453 (42 for 95) this month, second-best in the major leagues, and is batting .302 with a .356 on-base percentage.

Cabrera, who is hitting .336 with 50 runs and 44 runs batted in, and Guerrero, who is hitting .325 with 14 homers and 69 RBIs, rank first and seventh, respectively, in the AL in at-bats with runners in scoring position, Cabrera with 93 and Guerrero with 85.

“Those numbers totally point to what Reggie and Chone have done,” Scioscia said. “It’s no coincidence O.C. and Vladdy have gotten so many opportunities to hit with runners in scoring position.”

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If Willits continues to excel, the 26-year-old outfielder will be a leading candidate for AL rookie of the year. If, as expected, his main competition for the honor is Boston pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, it will be sure to rekindle the debate: Are first-year players who spend nine or 10 years in Japanese leagues really rookies?

Three Japanese players -- Hideo Nomo (NL) in 1995, Kazuhiro Sasaki (AL) in 2000 and Ichiro Suzuki (AL) in 2001 -- have won rookie-of-the-year honors. Nomo barely edged out Atlanta’s Chipper Jones, but Suzuki was a near unanimous choice, garnering 27 of 28 first-place votes. Matsuzaka is 9-5 with a 4.01 earned-run average and 102 strikeouts in 98 2/3 innings.

“The spirit of the rookie in our league is a guy who has come up through the minor leagues or made the jump from college to the major leagues,” Scioscia said. “The guys coming from Japan have played at a world-class level for a number of years. They’re rookies in the literal sense, but not a developmental sense.”

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The Angels finished interleague play with a major league best 14-4 record.... Jered Weaver, scratched from his last start because of a bruised shoulder, threw a rigorous bullpen session Sunday and is in line to start Wednesday against Kansas City.

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com