Currently viewing the tag: "A.J. Pollock"

This bizarre game that we love offers a good chance to use statistics because so much happens. Hundreds of plays in the field for most starters, hundreds of trips to the plate. Random things still can and do happen, along with things we can’t or don’t measure as we look at those events. Even more common than events on the …

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The more things change, the more they stay the same. With the unexpected news that Randall Delgado would get a short-term tryout in the rotation, possibly for the balance of the season, it made me think about our best-laid plans for the rotation from just before the season began. Going back to review it, I expected quite a few differences. …

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By now you’re well-aware that A.J. Pollock is really good. He was, after all, as second round draft pick, so it’s not like there was no way to see this coming. 17th overall picks are occasionally good baseball players, especially when compared to later picks. He’s always had tools, even since his college days. He was destined to stick in …

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Guys — Jake Lamb is back. Jordan Pacheco was designated for assignment on Saturday, with Lamb taking his spot and getting pinched into the game late that night. He struck out while playing for Yasmany Tomas in that game, which was won by a home run from new catcher Welington Castillo. Lamb then got the start yesterday, striking out …

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Having too many starting-caliber players is a good problem to have — especially in the outfield. This time last year, the four-way traffic jam of Yasiel Puig, Carl Crawford, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier was a well-publicized example, especially since the team had one of the best “fourth” outfielders in baseball already in Scott Van Slyke. As …

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In addition to having some positional flexibility and not being an automatic out at the plate, most fourth outfielders have some kind of “special sauce” that can be particularly useful at particular times, such as great baserunning, being able to hit either righties or lefties particularly well, having some “pop,” or offering not just adequate but very good defense. Some …

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Earlier this month, Jonah Keri of Grantland rolled out his MLB Trade Value rankings (part 1, part 2), which is a tremendous read, and even better than last year’s list. Only one D-backs contract made the list, although if you’re going to have just one player among the top 50, it’s nice to have number 3. One …

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An offseason of unusual activity in the sport has been fueled by a significant number of teams that had a regime change in the front office, and the D-backs are no exception. What originally looked like an offseason of tweaks now looks like something quite different — but what is it, really? Remember, Chief Baseball Officer expressed confidence exactly one …

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Things may get a little thin toward the bottom, but next year’s lineup looks to be quite good at the top if everyone stays healthy. A.J. Pollock was a monster last season, Aaron Hill has typically been an above-average hitter, and Paul Goldschmidt can’t be beat. Against left-handed pitching, Mark Trumbo should produce runs at an above-average clip, and when …

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The Diamondbacks have three young stars. No one misses the first one as Paul Goldschmidt is a top-ten talent in all of baseball. His 2013 co-All Star, Patrick Corbin, is the second one, although he missed all of 2014 after having Tommy John in the spring and the D-backs paid the price. The third star is less obvious to …

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The D-backs are an interesting team, defensively: in 2013 they were the second-best fielding team in baseball, but in 2014, they were one of the league’s worst in defensive efficiency. We speculated on Episode 2 of The Pool Shot that the D-backs may shift more under new manager Chip Hale. I’d like to take it one step further now, …

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The D-backs have lost six straight games, and that’s not even their longest losing streak this month. But the ugly four-game set in Colorado had a silver lining: the team leapfrogged the Rockies in the race to the bottom, and now lead in the sweepstakes for the first overall draft pick. Going into Thursday’s opener at Coors Field, the D-backs …

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Three Things to Watch For

On September 8, 2014 By

It has been a miserable season for the Diamondbacks. That’s been the case from the get-go – a horrendous start to the season dashed our hopes. Mercifully, the regular season ends in the three weeks. With an oddball cast of regulars and a suspect starting rotation, there doesn’t seem to be any reason to continue watching the D-backs. Take Sunday’s …

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On Monday, September 1st, the regular rules for the Active List (the 25-man roster) are suspended in Major League Baseball. Any player on a team’s Reserve List (the 40-man) can be added to the Active List through the last game of the MLB season. In practice, it never happens that a full 40 players are on a team’s Active List …

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The D-backs outfield has been in flux over the last two seasons. Entering 2013, Justin Upton and Chris Young were out, and Cody Ross and Martin Prado were in. Coming off a 30-HR season, Jason Kubel would also start, with Adam Eaton slated to man center. Gerardo Parra would once again be the swing man, playing mainly against RHP and …

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Johnny Cueto has been, arguably, the most dominant pitcher in baseball so far this season. On Saturday, he showed his stuff in Phoenix, taking a game from the D-backs with a seven plus inning performance. Unfortunately, he also took something much more valuable to the D-backs: the structural integrity of the fourth metacarpal in A.J. Pollock‘s right hand.

Pollock …

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