The Dodgers signed AJ Pollock after another injury plague season in 2018. Still, he hit 21 homers, 21 doubles, stole 13 bags, scored 61 times, and knocked in 65 RBI. All in all, he slashed .257/.316/.484.
Not bad but no where near his healthy 2015 production where he went 21/39 with homers and stolen bases. Most importantly, he was able to provide offense and defense for 157 games. He hasn’t played more than 113 games in a season since.
But he’s finally healthy again. And no one is happier than Pollock and Dodger fans. He’s OPSing .840 which is close to his career high of .865 back in his incredible 2015. And over the past week he has a hard hit rate of 43%.
He has 5 home runs, 6 doubles, and 14 RBI. So, if you use the magic 2.7, his 162 game pace is roughly 13 home runs, 16 doubles, 39 RBI, 36 Runs, and 5 SB at roughly the halfway point. Technically (it’s a small sample size) he’s on the best home run pace of his career.
He’s 2 for 3 with stolen bases now that his sprint speed is back up to the 79th percentile. AKA he’s 74th in the MLB in sprint speed. Not only that, he’s the fastest 33 year old player and top 3 among all those 33 or older.
Also at 27.8 ft/sec he’s actually only behind Bellinger and Taylor on the Dodgers, and yes he’s jussssst faster than Mookie Betts for perspective. And even though he’s lost some of his defensive burst ability, he’s running the best routes of his career in the outfield.
But perhaps the most welcoming sight is Pollock’s ability in the clutch. His RISP slash line is .313/.389/.625 in 18 plate appearances already. Not only that, but he’s slashing .321/.406/.679 with two outs. And when. it’s late in the game or close he’s slashing .400/.400/.600.
So if you have been wondering why Pollock has continued to hit in the middle of the lineup even with his latest little slump, that’s why.
He’s also once of the few Dodgers with a solid OPS (.846) against lefties. Currently the team as a whole only has an OPS of .646 and teams have begun to catch on.
All in all, AJ Pollock is back and performing better than most players at his age. He has a real shot at being Comeback Player of The Year.
Dodger Dynasty 
Leave a Reply