The bottom half

The week ahead

Angels: Kryptonite alert: If the regular season ended today, the Angels would draw the Red Sox in the playoffs. The Sox swept the Angels out of the playoffs in 2004 and 2007, with the Angels hitting no home runs in 99 at-bats last October. So, with David Ortiz injured, how’s the power comparison this year? The Sox have five players with more than 12 home runs, Ortiz included. The Angels have . . . you guessed it, Vladimir Guerrero.

Angels vs. Boston Red Sox, Friday through next Sunday at Angel Stadium, Anaheim.

Dodgers: The Dodgers last visited Arizona in April, when the Diamondbacks scored 23 runs in a three-game sweep. The Diamondbacks also scored 23 in their next three-game series, 16 in the one after that, and 23 more in the one after that. The offense has caved in since then -- from 6.0 runs a game in April to 4.2 in May and 3.3 in June -- and Arizona even floated a Barry Bonds trial balloon last week, then shot it down. Both teams are stumbling around .500 -- but, hey, this is a battle for first place in the NL West!

Dodgers vs. Arizona Diamondbacks, Friday through next Sunday at Chase Field, Phoenix.

Elsewhere: For the serious baseball fan, the All-Star Futures game is an annual treat. The best prospects gather two days before the All-Star game for an exhibition of stars in the making. Dodgers shortstop Chin-lung Hu was the most valuable player last year, in a game that also featured two guys you saw in the playoffs last October: Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain and Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury. The biggest name scheduled to play today is slugger Matt LaPorta, the key prospect in last week’s CC Sabathia trade, with shortstop Ivan DeJesus Jr. representing the Dodgers and pitcher Kevin Jepsen representing the Angels. All-Star Futures game, today at Yankee Stadium, New York (live on ESPN at 9:30 a.m.)

Minor leaguers of the week

Dodgers: Ivan DeJesus Jr., ss

For the second consecutive season, the Dodgers’ double-A shortstop will play in the Futures Game -- Hu last year, DeJesus this year. DeJesus, 21, son of the former major league shortstop of the same name, is hitting .307 at Jacksonville -- including .425 on a nine-game run through July 8 -- with a good eye and no power. The Dodgers promoted Hu to triple A after last year’s Futures game, but they probably won’t promote DeJesus to triple A this week because Hu is still there, sent back from Los Angeles after hitting .159 for the Dodgers.

Angels: Chris Pettit, of

The Angels selected Pettit as their minor league player of the year last season, when he hit .327 with 18 home runs, 44 doubles and 30 stolen bases at two Class-A stops. They promoted him to double-A Arkansas this season, but he suffered a broken foot on opening day and didn’t return until the last week of June. He made up for some of the lost time last Monday, hitting his first grand slam and driving in seven runs in the Travelers’ 12-5 victory over Frisco. Pettit, 23, attended San Dimas High and Loyola Marymount.