Bees at mid-season

With the Triple-A All-Star Game one week away, it's the unofficial midway point of the season for the Salt Lake Bees. The final-stretch drive will begin in full when the team returns from the All-Star break on July 13 and heads out on an eight-game trip to Sacramento and Fresno.

The Bees have now played 84 games — with just 60 remaining in the 144-game Pacific Coast League regular season. Despite many roster moves — as players have been shuttled back and forth all season between Salt Lake City and Anaheim, the home of the parent Los Angeles Angels — the Bees are alone in first place in the Northern Division of the Pacific Conference.

"It goes back to the character of these guys," said Bees manager Brian Harper. "These are character guys. They work hard and they play hard and they come out every day with the attitude that they are going to work hard to try to win. It's a special team."

Here's a look at some of the team's highs and lows so far this season:

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Howie Kendrick, second baseman.

To put Kendrick's amazing season in perspective, during a recent 10-game stretch he hit .333 with three homers, eight RBIs and eight runs scored — and his batting average dropped nearly 10 percentage points.

Kendrick was actually hitting better than .400 for the season in early June. He's still leading the PCL with a .386 batting average. He also has 13 homers, 57 RBIs and 11 stolen bases in 63 games with the Bees. His numbers for the Bees would be even more impressive if he hadn't spent three weeks with the parent Angels in late April and early May.

"(Kendrick) is the best hitter in the minor leagues," Harper said during a recent road trip to Colorado Springs. "I played with Kirby (Puckett) for seven years and Howie is a lot like Kirby. He doesn't walk a lot; he goes up there swinging. He hits a lot of bad pitches hard. I can't imagine him not playing in the major leagues next year."

Kendrick, a potential major league All-Star, will play in two minor-league classics this week. He was selected to play in both the All-Star Futures Game in Pittsburgh on Friday and the Triple-A All-Star Game in Toledo, Ohio, on July 12.

MOST VALUABLE PITCHER: LHP Joe Saunders.

Jered Weaver has been outstanding for the Bees this season — he was 6-1 with a 2.10 ERA in 12 starts before recently being recalled by the Angels, where he won each of his first four starts earlier this year.