Feb. 17, 2009
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame junior outfielder A.J. Pollock was named first team preseason All-American by Baseball America on Monday. He was one of just two players from the BIG EAST Conference to be named to the first, second or third team.
Pollock (Hebron, Conn.) has already been named second team All-American by Collegiate Baseball and third team by CollegeBaseballInsider.com. He has also been named to the Wallace Award Watch List and listed as the 39th overall prospect, 16th collegiate prospect and top overall prospect from the BIG EAST Conference for the 2009 MLB Draft by Baseball America. Pollock was also ranked as the seventh-best prospect from the Cape Cod League by Baseball America following his Most Valuable Player season this past summer. He was most recently recognized by Baseball America as the 10th-ranked player from the junior class.
Baseball America annually polls major league scouting directors to vote on the team and make their selections based on performance, talent and professional potential. In the past, the preseason All-America team has been a predictor both of the first round of the draft and of team success. For example, members of the 2008 first team made up eight of the first 12 picks in the draft last June. In all, 15 of last year’s preseason All-Americans were drafted in the first round, and 11 of them played for teams that reached the College World Series.
Pollock finished the regular season on the Cape leading the league in hits (61), doubles (15) and slugging percentage (.556). He ranked second in batting average at .377 — a clip that remained above .300 all summer long — as well as second in extra-base hits with 20. Pollock also ranked third in on-base percentage (.455) and runs scored (35). He smacked four home runs, drove in 25 RBI and stole 11 bases. Pollock started in center field as a West Division All-Star, going 2-for-3 at the plate, including a solo home run. He proved to be the perfect leadoff hitter for Falmouth, relying on his ability to make contact and put the ball in play, striking out only 24 times in 162 at-bats.
Pollock finished last season for Notre Dame with a .352 batting average, 15 doubles, three triples, four home runs, 42 RBI and 28 stolen bases. A two-time BIG EAST Player of the Week selection, Pollock led the Irish in batting, hits (76), doubles (tied), total bases (109), sacrifice flies (7), stolen bases, at bats (216), games played (tied, 55) and games started (tied, 55).
Pollock was the first Notre Dame player to lead the team in hitting, stolen bases and strikeout ratio in the same season since Steve Stanley in 2002. He struck out just 10 times in 216 at-bats last year and his ratio of one strikeout to every 21.6 at-bats is the eighth-best ratio in school history. His .362 career batting average ranks ninth all-time in Notre Dame history (minimum 2 years, 2.5 AB/game).
Pollock and the rest of his Notre Dame teammates open the 2009 spring season on Feb. 20-22 with the BIG EAST vs. Big Ten Challenge. The Irish will face Ohio State (Fri., 7:30 p.m. in Dunedin, Fla.), Illinois (Sat., 7:30 p.m. in Bradenton, Fla.) and Purdue (Sun., 1:00 p.m. in Clearwater, Fla.).
2009 Preseason All-America TeamsFirst TeamPos. Player, School Cl. B-T Ht. Wt. AVG OBP SLG AB R H HR RBI SBC Josh Phegley, Indiana Jr. R-R 5-11 215 .438 .507 .746 224 69 98 15 80 21B Dustin Ackley, North Carolina Jr. L-R 6-1 184 .417 .503 .597 278 82 116 7 51 192B Ross Wilson, Alabama So. R-R 5-11 185 .295 .355 .543 258 60 76 15 47 93B Tom Mendonca, Fresno State Jr. L-R 6-1 200 .281 .359 .508 295 48 83 19 70 6SS Grant Green, USC Jr. R-R 6-3 180 .390 .438 .644 205 46 80 9 46 10OF Kentrail Davis, Tennessee So. L-R 5-9 200 .330 .435 .583 206 45 68 13 44 7OF A.J. Pollock, Notre Dame Jr. R-R 6-1 200 .352 .414 .505 216 49 76 4 42 28OF Brett Jackson, California Jr. L-R 6-2 210 .307 .404 .441 202 36 62 4 40 12DH Chris Dominguez, Louisville Jr. R-R 6-4 240 .365 .427 .687 249 68 91 21 75 11UT Mike Leake, Arizona State Jr. R-R 6-0 180 .340 .500 .574 47 16 16 2 11 2
Pos. Player, School Cl. B-T Ht. Wt. W L ERA G SV IP H BB SO AVGSP Stephen Strasburg, San Diego State Jr. R-R 6-4 220 8 3 1.57 13 0 97 61 16 133 .181SP Alex White, North Carolina Jr. R-R 6-3 193 13 3 2.83 20 0 102 78 42 113 .215SP Kyle Gibson, Missouri Jr. R-R 6-6 208 9 4 3.84 19 2 87 86 23 96 .254SP Kendal Volz, Baylor Jr. R-R 6-5 225 3 6 4.20 12 0 71 75 28 85 .273RP Jason Stoffel, Arizona Jr. R-R 6-1 225 4 2 3.00 34 13 48 34 15 79 .198UT Mike Leake, Arizona State Jr. R-R 6-0 180 11 3 3.49 19 1 121 118 20 104 .254
— ND —