Apparently, another name I have for sleepers are guys that were supposed to be good last year and ended up yawnstipating. A.J. Pollock, or as my slightly racist grandfather would call him, That Pollock, didn’t meet expectations last year, putting up 7 homers, 14 steals and a .302 average. Or did he…? Damn, you reversal question. You know, I was going along fine before you came along and had me doing a logic U-turn. No, he didn’t meet expectations, but he also only played in 75 games due to a fractured right hand. Let’s be clear, he missed three months with a fractured hand. One presumably uses a right hand to bat with. Si or no si? Si, si. One also would lose timing from missing three months. Si or no si? Si, si. So, Pollock, or as my slightly racist grandfather would call him when he’s in a bad mood, That Filthy Pollock, didn’t really have a bad year. He actually had a solid year when you consider he missed so much time with such a serious injury. If he played in 150 games…Well, don’t even make me pull out the prorating. Shizz gets downright beautiful. Prorating is dangerous. Prorating can get you in a world of trouble. “My girl is so pretty for those ten minutes right after she comes out of the beauty salon. If she were that pretty all the time…” Now, you’ve just prorated yourself into marrying some girl you met in a bowling alley. However, it is totally fine to prorate your love-making ability. “Yes, that was only three minutes this time, but imagine that again for ten, fifteen or even twenty minutes!” So, what can we expect of A.J. Pollock for 2015 fantasy baseball and what makes him a sleeper?
You know how the Pied Piper plays– What does he play anyway? A pipe? Who the hell plays a pipe? My Google is broke, someone hook me up with the knowledge. So, you know how the Pied Piper plays a pipe (?) and rats come marching? Well, I’m the mother-jean-wearing Fantasy Master Lothario playing a pipe that sounds like this, “He has speed and power.” On repeat. That’s all it says, over and over again. Speed and power, speed and power. It’s how I got into Michael Brantley last year, and why I’m caca-cuckoo for Pollock. The Diamondbacks will likely be a mess this year, so playing time, and solid lineup placement shouldn’t be an issue for Pollock. How many Pollocks does it take to hit leadoff? One. The A.J. one, that’s all we care about. On the speed tip, he once stole 36 bases Double-A. Does a guy who stole 36 bases sound at all like someone who might only scrap together, say, 15 steals? Steamer projects him for 16 steals, and that feels light. (On a side note that is actually related, Steamer only has him playing in 127 games.) His power won’t be Roy Hobbs-like with someone needing to change a whole bank of lights at Chase Field. He’s never topped ten homers in any one season, even in the minors. He did, however, hit 7 homers in only 75 games last year, and his power should be peaking as he enters his age 27 season. This winter should give his hand plenty of time to get healthy. So, I have one question for you: Who hasn’t been raped by Bill Cosby?! Okay, I have another question: Why wouldn’t you take a chance on drafting A.J. Pollock?! For 2015, I’ll give him the projections of 78/14/61/.272/20, which is me being conservative. There’s a chance here for much more upside.
