A.J. Pollock looks to lead Notre Dame in 2009
The CBB continues our countdown to the 2009 College Baseball season with the Top 50 players to watch in the season. We will be providing one player each day (Monday-Saturday) until we reach number 1. We continue our list today with junior outfielder A.J. Pollock from Notre Dame.
A.J. is a resident of Hebron CT where he made a name for himself at RHAM High School. He became an instant contributor as he became the starting shortstop as a freshman. He was the first freshman ever to start at the position. His final three seasons at RHAM High School saw him lead the team to the conference title. His senior campaign saw him hit .462 with four homers and 28 RBI while stealing 15 bases. He ended up picking up the Gatorade Connecticut Player of the Year in 2006 by receiving the most votes since 1974.
Pollock made the trip to South Bend where he started his collegiate career in spectacular fashion by being named as a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball News and Ping! Baseball. He ended up leading the Irish with a .372 average which was also good enough for fourth place in the Big East conference. He ended up spending the summer of 2007 as a member of the Vermont Mountaineers from the NECBL. He had a .348 average with a homer and 20 RBI. He also picked up 13 stolen bases in 14 attempts.
Pollock continued his strong collegiate career during the 2008 season which saw him again lead the Irish in hitting with a .352 average with four homers and 42 RBI. He continued to be a terror on the base paths by stealing 28 bases in 31 attempts. After the season was over, Pollock decided to make the trek to the premier collegiate summer league in the country with the Cape Cod League. He spent the summer with the Falmouth Commodores. He ended up finishing second in the league in hitting with a .377 average with four homers and 25 RBI. He also was 11-15 on the base paths against some of the top catchers in the nation. The CCBL honored him as he was selected as a starter in the All-Star game which saw him go 2-3 with a homer. (Full report available here.) The honors from the CCBL continued to roll in once the season was over. He picked up All-League honors and was named as the MVP of the league following in the footsteps of some MLB legends.
We believe A.J. projects as one of the top outfielders in the nation as he reminds us as a slightly slower Jacoby Ellsbury from the right side of the plate. He shows excellent discipline at the plate and plays the game with an edge that just adds to his stock.
You can check out our full countdown by clicking here.
