The players to watch and what to watch for this weekend:

Curtis Granderson, Detroit Tigersvs. Colorado Rockies (6/27-29)

For those of you who counted out the Detroit Tigers after their horrible start, take a peak at the AL Central standings and think again.  Granted, they still trail the division leading Chicago White Sox by five games but the Tigers won 14 of their last 17 and are just two games under .500 going into their weekend series with the Colorado Rockies.  No one on the Tigers is hotter than Curtis Granderson.  Going into the weekend series, Granderson is on a 14-game hitting streak.  He is 23-for-55 during the streak with four doubles and 10 runs scored.  In his five seasons with the Tigers, Granderson has never faced the Rockies but is hitting over .300 in Interleague play.  The Tigers look to continue their run through Interleague play and will attempt to win their fifth consecutive Interleague series.

Albert Pujols, Saint Louis Cardinals at Kansas City Royals (6/27-29)

Before Albert Pujols' injury, the Cardinals trailed the Cubs by just two and a half games.  From June 11-25, Pujols missed 13 games and the Cardinals went 6-7.  Upon his return on Thursday -- despite their loss to the Tigers -- Pujols had an impact with a 4-for-4 performance and one RBI.  Now, Pujols brings his .358 average and 16 home runs into Kansas City where he has thrived in their Interleague match-ups.  In 21 games at Kauffman Stadium, Pujols is 35-for-88 with eight homers, 24 RBI and 22 runs scored in 21 games and hit safely in 19 of those 21 games.  Without Pujols, the Cardinals were swept by the Royals in Saint Louis just two weeks ago.  With Pujols most likely hitting out of the DH spot, the Cardinals will look to avenge their sweep.  It might be tough against the Royals who are 10-1 in their last 11 games.

Jermaine Dye, Chicago White Sox vs. Chicago Cubs (6/27-29)

After being swept in last weekend's series at Wrigley, the White Sox look for a little Interleague revenge against the Chicago Cubs -- owners of the best record in baseball.  After taking two of three from the Dodgers, the Sox hope to continue to get hot hitting from Jermaine Dye who has homered five times in the last seven games and is the owner of a seven-game hitting streak.  Dye is particularly successful in Interleague play in his career with a .305 average, 36 homers and 127 RBI in 181 Interleague games.  Against the current Cubs pitching staff, Dye is 21-for-71 with five home runs and 10 RBI.  He has homered off of Ted Lilly and Jason Marquis twice each and Jon Lieber once and is 2-for-3 against Cubs' closer Kerry Wood. 

Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins vs. Milwaukee Brewers (6/27-29)

Hot on the heels of the Chicago White Sox are the red hot Minnesota Twins.  The Twins have won nine in a row and 11 of their last 12.  One of the hottest hitting Twins is Justin Morneau.  In his last 16 games, Morneau is 24-for-64 with two home runs and 18 RBI.  Going into their series with the Brewers, Morneau is hitting .310 with 12 homers and 62 RBI.  The 2006 AL MVP is quietly putting up numbers similar to his impressive MVP season and has his Twins in position to take over the AL Central division lead if the White Sox were to continue their struggles against the Cubs.  In 26 career games against the Brew Crew, Morneau is a .299 hitter with five homers and 19 RBI in 87 at-bats.  The Brewers have struggled to keep Morneau out of the hit column -- he has a 17-game hitting streak against the Brewers dating back to 2005.  Morneau owns a walk-off home run against Milwaukee on June 17, 2007 in their 10-9 win.

Carlos Beltran, New York Mets at/vs. New York Yankees (6/27-29)

When Carlos Beltran took a look at the staring pitchers for the Mets-Yankees series this weekend, there is a good chance his mouth watered when he saw Sidney Ponson penciled in for the nightcap of their Subway doubleheader on Friday.  In his career, Beltran is 12-for-25 with two home runs and six RBI against Ponson and owns a 1.336 OPS vs. the newest member of the Yankees rotation.  Beltran is enjoying a productive June despite going 0-for-4 in his last two games.  In 23 games, Beltran is hitting .303 with six home runs and 19 RBI.  With four games against the Yankees, there is a chance that Beltran will not play all four games against the Yankees especially with the expected return of Ryan Church this weekend.  If Jerry Manuel is doing his homework, he will make sure that Beltran is in the lineup to face Ponson as many times as he possibly can.

Jair Jurrjens, Atlanta Braves at Toronto Blue Jays (6/27)

Interested in seeing the 2008 National League Rookie of the Year play?  There is a good chance that the title of NL Rookie of the Year could go to Braves pitcher Jair Jurrjens who is starting for the Braves on Friday.  So far this season, Jurrjens is 7-3 with a 3.20 ERA.  Although there were a couple of rocky starts mixed in, the 22-year-old Jurrjens has not lost since May 12 and is 3-0 in his last seven starts.  There is a lot of history between the Blue Jays and Braves including their managers.  New (old) Blue Jays skipper Cito Gaston played in the minors with Braves manager Bobby Cox.  In addition, Cox hired Gaston as Toronto's hitting coach when he was the manager there and lost to Gaston's Jays in the World Series in 1992.  If Jurrjens can get his eighth win on Friday night, it would tie him with Tim Hudson for victories this season.

Vincente Padilla, Texas Rangers vs. Philadelphia Phillies (6/28)

In Philadelphia Phillies lore, Vincente Padilla is less known for his 49-49 record during his five-plus seasons as a member of the team and more known as the most successful player to come out of a horrible trade that sent Curt Schilling out of Philadelphia and to a World Championship in Arizona.  Before and after playing for the Phillies, Padilla has never faced his old team and on Saturday goes up against their ace, Cole Hamels.  This season, Padilla is no slouch -- he is 10-3 with a 3.74 ERA.  Saturday's Padilla-Hamels match-up is the game most likely to not be a high scoring affair of the three-game slate.  The Rangers score more runs than any team in the American League and the Phillies trail only the Chicago Cubs in the National League in runs per game.  With both teams averaging more than five runs a game and the Rangers not being shut out since August 19, 2007, no one is expecting a pitching duel, which is sometimes exactly when you see one.

Aaron Laffey, Cleveland Indians vs. Cincinnati Reds (6/29)

If there is any uncertainty as to why the Cleveland Indians are struggling this season, a close look at Aaron Laffey's performance this season will give you a glimpse as to why.  It has nothing to do with the 23-year-old Laffey struggling, it is actually the exact opposite.  Don't let Laffey's mediocre 4-4 record fool you -- in 11 starts, Laffey has a 2.83 ERA and nine quality starts.  Despite a 2.84 ERA in two Interleague starts, Laffey has yet to pick up his first Interleague win.  In five of the 11 starts, the Indians have scored two or less runs and Laffey is 3-0 when the team scores more than four runs.  This is an important series for the Indians who expected to be in contention for the AL Central title but are currently in the cellar of the division.  Already seven and a half games out of first place, another losing series and Laffey could soon see some new faces around the clubhouse as the team may begin a mid-season fire sale of talent to begin the rebuilding process.

Jon Rauch, Washington Nationals vs. Baltimore Orioles (6/27-29)

At the beginning of the season, Chad Cordero was the Nationals closer but due to injury, Jon Rauch took over the role.  Limited in his save opportunities, Rauch is 4-1 with 15 saves in 39 appearances with the last place Nationals.  Even when Rauch blows a save, the Nationals still do well -- in his four blown saves, the Nationals are 3-1.  Rauch has performed particularly well in Interleague play.  In his last 17 Interleague appearances, Rauch is 1-0 with 3 saves and a 0.00 ERA.  He has held Interleague opponents in his last 18 innings worked and held them to just five hits and a walk while striking out 22.  The last time Rauch gave up a run in an Interleague game was on May 19, 2007 when he blew a save in two innings of work against the same Baltimore Orioles that the Nationals are playing this weekend.  If Rauch can continue his success, the Nationals might have a hot commodity this trading deadline.