by Chris Towers | CBSSports.com (5/8/2013) Diamondbacks outfielder A.J. Pollock was expected to get caught in a roster squeeze, but he has mostly remained a part of the lineup in recent weeks. The 25-year-old started his fourth game in five days Tuesday, a sign the team feels comfortable riding his hot bat.
With Pollock remaining near the top of the most-viewed players list, what should Fantasy owners think of him?
The most important thing to note is that a big part of why Pollock is not quite starting every day is because of his platoon splits, as Pollock puts up a .926 on-base plus slugging percentage against left-handed pitchers, compared to a .668 mark against righties. All four of his home runs have come against southpaws, so he is carrying an empty .263 batting average against righties.
Pollock entered Tuesday hitting .316 in the month of May, but he has just two hits in three starts against righties. As long as he maintains such a drastic platoon split, Pollock is likely to remain little more than a Fantasy fill-in. I would pass on him for NL-only Fantasy formats until he shows the ability to produce against the larger side of the platoon.
A.J. Pollock racking up hits to begin May
by Michael Hurcomb | CBSSports.com (5/7/2013) Diamondbacks outfielder A.J. Pollock produced two hits for the third time in five May games Monday against the Dodgers. Pollock is batting .316 (6 for 19) with one home run, two stolen bases, two doubles, four RBI and six runs in May.
Pollock is batting .286 with a .548 slugging percentage and .854 OPS in his last 22 games (19 starts). He has four home runs, 10 doubles and 12 RBI in that span.
A.J. Pollock goes yard vs. Padres
by Igor Mello | CBSSports.com (5/5/2013) Diamondbacks outfielder A.J. Pollock enjoyed a big night at the plate as he unleashed his fourth home run of the season Saturday against the Padres.
Pollock doubled in two runs in the second and took starter Clayton Richard deep for a solo home run in the fourth inning. He finished 2 for 4 with three runs scored and three RBI in an 8-1 victory.
Pollock has gone deep twice in his last six games. He is batting .368 (7 for 19) with two home runs and four RBI over that span. The 25-year-old is hitting .272/.292/.511 in 92 at-bats.
A.J. Pollock has two hits
by Chris Cwik | CBSSports.com (5/2/2013) Diamondbacks outfielder A.J. Pollock collected two hits Wednesday.
Pollock racked up his fourth stolen base of the season. He's hitting .264/.278/.471 in 87 at-bats.
A.J. Pollock could see less playing time
by Michael Hurcomb | CBSSports.com (4/29/2013) Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson has been more than pleased with the play of A.J. Pollock, who is batting .266 with a .494 slugging percentage through 22 games.
"When you look at putting a winning ball club together, A.J. Pollock is exactly the kind of guy you want," Gibson said, per MLB.com. "He has made the most of his opportunity, and he fits the type of ballplayer we like."
Pollock said the consistent at-bats has helped him settle in on the major-league level.
"You relax a little bit more. Last year I was up and down," he said. "So that helps a little. It's hard to explain how you get comfortable, but stuff happens and you gain confidence."
Pollock was a key part of the lineup in April with Cody Ross, Jason Kubel and Adam Eaton all sidelined by injury. Ross and Kubel are back, and Pollock realizes he could be in for a bit of a playing time crunch.
"Everyone is supportive. We're all behind everyone," Pollock said. "Maybe I won't play every day, but I still have to be ready to play."
A.J. Pollock goes deep vs. Rockies
by Igor Mello | CBSSports.com (4/28/2013) Diamondbacks outfielder A.J. Pollock enjoyed a productive night at the plate as he launched his third home run of the season Saturday night against the Rockies.
Pollock snapped out of a 1-for-18 slump as he took starter Jeff Francis deep for a solo shot in the opening frame. He also added two more singles and finished 3 for 5 with two runs scored and an RBI in a 3-2 defeat.
Pollock is hitting .269 with three home runs and 10 RBI.
A.J. Pollock is A-OK
by Michael Hurcomb | CBSSports.com (4/21/2013) I have to say I'm a little bit shocked by Diamondbacks outfielder A.J. Pollock's lack of patience at the plate. He hasn't drawn a walk in 15 games, which is unusual for a player that posted a .354 on-base percentage in the minors.
With that in mind, I'm still endorsing Pollock (owned 13 percent of leagues) as a viable add. Even with his lack of walks, Pollock has more Fantasy points in standard Head-to-Head leagues than Lorenzo Cain, Jay Bruce, Carlos Gomez, Jose Bautista, Jayson Heyward, Nelson Cruz, Allen Craig, Josh Willingham, and the list goes on and on.
Pollock doesn't have a ton of home run power, but he's a good contact hitter than can find the gaps and use his speed to leg out extra-base hits. Though he only has two stolen bases thus far, Pollock had a few 20-plus stolen-base seasons in the minors.
Pollock will likely be the odd-man out once Jason Kubel and Adam Eaton return from injuries, but in the meantime Pollock is serviceable as a low-end Fantasy outfielder in deeper formats.
A.J. Pollock putting hits together
by Ed Gauna | CBSSports.com (4/16/2013) Diamondbacks outfielder A.J. Pollock extended his modest hitting streak to five games on Tuesday night against the Yankees. He went 2 for 4 with a pair of doubles in a 4-2 loss.
Pollock is batting .421 (8 for 19) during his streak with two homers, five RBI and five runs scored.
A.J. Pollock snaps slump with two homers
by Ed Gauna | CBSSports.com (4/10/2013) Diamondbacks outfielder A.J. Pollock entered Wednesday's series finale against the Pirates hitless in his last 14 at-bats.
He broke out of that slump in a big way, going 3 for 5 with two homers and three runs scored. The 25-year-old also stole his first base in a 10-2 win.
Pollock, moved up to the No. 2 spot in the batting order by manager Kirk Gibson, doubled in his first at-bat before launching a three-run bomb off starter Jonathan Sanchez in the second inning.
Then in the fourth, he led off the inning with a solo shot.
Pollock was 3 for 17 (.176) entering the game and hadn't recorded a hit since opening day.
A.J. Pollock looking to stick around
by Michael Hurcomb | CBSSports.com (4/2/2013) Diamondbacks outfielder A.J. Pollock, who made the opening day roster for the first time in his career, had a memorable opening day performance Monday against the Cardinals. He collected three hits, including driving in the go-ahead runs in the fourth inning.
"It's all about hitting mistakes," Pollock said, per MLB.com. "Today we capitalized on it, some days you don't. I think we did a good job of being patient and waiting for a pitch to hit and we were able to do some damage."
Pollock is on the roster because of injuries to Adam Eaton and Cody Ross, but he's hoping to avoid a demotion back to Triple-A Reno.
"It was real hard, you don't want to see it, but everyone knows it's part of the game," he said. "It stinks but this could be my chance to show what I can do."
A.J. Pollock powers D-Backs past Cards
by Ed Gauna | CBSSports.com (4/2/2013) After batting just .237 during spring training, Diamondbacks outfielder A.J. Pollock was able to turn things around in Monday's season opener against the Cardinals. He went 3 for 4 with two RBI in the 6-2 win.
Pollock reached on an infield single in his first at-bat before doubling home two in the fourth inning. He added another base hit in the sixth.
Diamondbacks mull leadoff options
by Michael Hurcomb | CBSSports.com (3/25/2013) Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson is considering multiple players as potential leadoff hitters in the absence of outfielder Adam Eaton, who will begin the season on the disabled list because of an elbow injury. Gibson said Gerardo Parra, A.J. Pollock, Willie Bloomquist and Martin Prado are all possibilities, according to the Arizona Daily Star.
"We'll just piece our way through it," Gibson said. "We're going to try to figure that out in the upcoming days, but we do have a week."
Kirk Gibson thinking about OF alignment
by Michael Hurcomb | CBSSports.com (3/25/2013) Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson continues to ponder his outfield alignment in the event he's down two starting outfielders -- Cody Ross (calf) and Adam Eaton (elbow) -- to start the season. Gibson said in the games Gerardo Parra and A.J. Pollock are both playing, then he prefers Pollock in center field and Parra in a corner-outfield spot, according to the Arizona Daily Star.
A.J. Pollock close to major-league ready
by Michael Hurcomb | CBSSports.com (3/14/2013) Former major leauger Brett Butler, who is currently the manager at the Diamondbacks' Triple-A affiliate in Reno, has lofty expectations for Arizona outfield prospect A.J. Pollock, who is considered one of the Diamondbacks' top 10 prospect by MLB.com (eighth) and Baseball America (10th)
"He's Mike Trout without the pop," Butler said, per The Arizona Republic.
The Diamondbacks, unfortunately, might not have a spot for Pollock on their opening day roster, but manager Kirk Gibson said "he's pretty damn close" to being an everyday starting outfielder in the majors.
"He’s had a good spring training so far. Real good," Gibson said. "He’s a very smart ballplayer, we know that. … He’s got a little bit of sock. He’s very good at stealing bases. He’s a very good base runner. He’s a very good outfielder. Throws the ball well. He’s just solid. Very solid."
Pollock recalled
by Igor Mello | CBSSports.com (9/19/2012) The Diamondbacks have recalled outfielder A.J. Pollock and purchased the contract of infielder Mike Jacobs from Triple-A Reno Wednesday. Arizona has also designated Cole Gillespie for assignment.
