If I had told you during Spring Training that AJ Pollock would be the team’s hottest hitter to start the season, would you have believed me?
Odds are you would have gone with Cody Bellinger, who is coming off of one of the greatest hitting campaigns in recent history. Or maybe you would’ve chosen Mookie Betts, the former AL MVP that we just signed for 12 years. If you picked Corey Seager, you aren’t totally wrong, but this article isn’t about him. It’s about time that the real AJ Pollock stood up so we could give him some recognition.
In last night’s victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks, AJ Pollock went 2-5 with a double and a skyscraper of a home run that you can see below.
AJ Pollock – Los Angeles Dodgers (1) 2-run. pic.twitter.com/GXN5AG31sM
— MLB HR Tracker (@hr_mlb) July 31, 2020
This far into the young season Pollock has 8 hits in 17 at-bats, equalling a cool .471 average to lead the team. Half of those hits have gone for extra bases including last night’s home run, a sign that he isn’t just finding holes but hitting balls squarely.
This is the version of AJ Pollock that Dodgers fans have been waiting to see since he signed a 5-year, $60 million contract before the 2019 season. After a series of injuries kept him from finding any type of rhythm most of the season, Pollock finally started looking like himself in the final two months of the year batting .296 with 8 home runs.
A fully healthy AJ Pollock will be a welcome sight for a Dodgers team whose best players have yet to truly find their groove. It also doesn’t hurt that most of his at-bats this season will come from the DH spot, a great way to keep his body healthy for the entirety of the season. While Cody Bellinger and Mookie Betts regain their MVP forms, it will be on the rest of the team to pick up the slack to keep winning games, and thus far, they haven’t done too bad. If Pollock can remain healthy this year and truly contribute, this Dodger offense just got even scarier. I mean, who doesn’t like a good comeback story?
