Tommy La Stella part of larger story with his 12 HRs this season

Angels infielder Tommy La Stella is the poster boy, of sorts, for Major League Baseball this season.

Never to be confused with a slugger, La Stella has 12 home runs and can’t explain why balls are getting slammed harder and farther than in past seasons.

Home runs are soaring into the stands at a historic rate. In May, the league set the record for a month with 1,135 homers, 16 more than the previous record from August 2017.

“Guys have made some comments about the balls, and it’s hard to argue against it when you look at the numbers,” La Stella said Monday before the Cubs’ makeup game against the Angels at Wrigley Field. “But I know the guys are throwing harder and hitters are adjusting to hitting higher velocity, and obviously the ball is going to go farther when you make contact with it.”

Mike Trout, a six-time Silver Slugger winner, also offered little explanation for the surge in homers.

“Pitchers are going to say the ball is juiced, and hitters are going to say they’re throwing the ball at 100, so it’s coming in a lot harder,” Trout said. “That’s the way I look at it.”

Before this season, La Stella had only 10 career homers over five seasons. Five came in 2017.

This season has been a different story.

“His power is unbelievable so far,” said Trout, who finally surpassed La Stella in homers Friday. “It’s fun to watch, and hopefully he keeps it going.”

La Stella attributed his drastic increase in home runs to making minor adjustments to his setup and swing. The former Cub also said it helps to get more consistent at-bats.

“It was a combination of things,” La Stella said. “But just being able to get out there and get more repetitions.

“With more opportunity, comes the ability to take some shots every so often, not that I’m looking to do that every at-bat.”

La Stella’s numbers are impressive compared to his previous standards, but he has little chance to be invited to the Home Run Derby — not that it had crossed his mind.

On the off chance that he were asked to participate, La Stella said he probably would decline.

“I don’t want to go out there and embarrass myself,” he said with a laugh. “I’ll leave it to the big sluggers.”