AJ Pollock might be the best player that nobody’s talking about.
Correction, AJ Pollock is the best player that nobody’s talking about. According to that table, he’s statistically the most valuable player on DraftKings.
Out in the desert, this 27-year-old is enjoying a breakout season but he’s doing it from Paul Goldschmidt’s shadow. Let’s face it, it’s hard to stand out when this guy is your teammate:
But I’m sure Pollock is just fine with the quiet satisfaction near the top of the league leaders in hits and runs. There are a few key factors that have helped him on his way to quiet greatness – starting with Goldschmidt.
Here is the difference in Pollock’s production when hitting before and after Goldschmidt.
After frequent looks in the cleanup spot, it now appears as though Pollock is a mainstay in the two-hole of the Diamondbacks high-powered offense. Hitting directly in front of Goldy certainly improves Pollock’s pitch selection and run scoring probability.
It also helps that Pollock plays his home games in Arizona, which ranks as the best hitter’s ballpark outside of Colorado. Fun fact, Pollock’s second most visited stadium happens to be Coors Field – Chase and Coors account for 61% of his games in the Fantasy Labs database.
Pollock’s home splits rank him as the fourth-best home bat in the league, trailing only Goldschmidt, Giancarlo Stanton and Charlie Blackmon (min count: 75). He averages 10.89 at Coors Field and we’ll throw out his 11.5 PPG average at AT&T Park for good measure.
There’s so much to talk about with this guy that I’m only now getting to the fact that he absolutely wears out left-handed pitching.
He’s not just good against lefties, he’s actually the best hitter in DFS against lefties. Let that sink in… he’s the best in perhaps the most crucial and overlooked matchup factor in DFS.
Number one in plus-minus, number one against LHP – it feels like I’m spilling some top secret information here.
Here is a list of the game’s most complete and elite players. This is the company that Pollock belongs with:
Homers and steals are big moneymakers on DraftKings; it’s as valuable as it is rare to find a player who threatens in both categories. Pollock checks in as the cheapest and highest upside option on this star-studded list. Consider that Pollock has homered or stolen in 47% of home games against a left-handed starter.
Now here is the most recent NL All-Star voting update – get with the program people.
