Areas Of Concern For The Seattle Mariners, So Far

Concern #3 - Designated hitter

AJ Pollock

The one Seattle Mariner involved in the DH group who I have not talked about is AJ Pollock. When I heard that we signed Pollock, I was quite excited given his sneaky track record.

While he was with the Dodgers between 2019 and 2021, he hit double-digit home runs and hit over .260. Pollock also produced a .795, .880, and .891 OPS respectively.

Another thing to add, he played in just 86 games for the Dodgers in 2019 and hit 15 home runs. In 2020, he played 55 games and hit 16 homers.

And if you go all the way back to 2015 when he was named an All-Star, he hit .315 with 20 home runs and 39 stolen bases. The former 17th overall pick really had it all and is one of those players that is easy to overlook.

But in 2022, Pollock regressed a good amount. His batting average dropped to .245, his OPS down to .681, and he only hit 14 home runs which was the lowest amount since 2017.

So far, the regression continues. He is hitting below the Mendoza Line much like the others I have talked about but he has homered twice and driven in 6 RBI (prior to 4/15/23). You'd think that Pollock's xBA would be higher given his two home runs but it's not far off from his true batting average.

He has hit the ball relatively hard and is barreling up baseballs but it hasn't been good enough. We need better production from our DHs and Pollock is my top pick out of the rest. Luckily, my nerves are a bit calm since Jarred Kelenic has been absolutely on fire and doesn't seem to want to share left field with AJ.

I am hopeful that AJ Pollock will find his groove and once he does, that is going to improve the Mariners offense by A LOT. We didn't get a whole lot from Jesse Winker at DH, Carlos Santana had a couple of clutch moments, and featured guests like Abraham Toro and Justin Upton weren't enough.