After being unranked last year, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ AJ Pollock placed No. 8 on MLB Network’s The Shredder’s list of top-10 left fielders heading into the 2022 season. It’s his sixth appearance in the rankings over the last eight years, but first time for left field (all others were center field).
Like most of the other rankings compiled by The Shredder for this season, the evaluation of left fielders took into account a three-year sample, with 2021 weighed more heavily. It factored in WAR and wRC+, in addition to Statcast metrics. Defense was not weighed as heavily as center field.
The Seattle Mariners’ Jesse Winker, who was the No. 5 ranked left fielder last season, claimed the top spot from Christian Yelich (Milwaukee Brewers) for 2022. Winker was followed by Joey Gallo (New York Yankees), Yelich (Milwaukee Brewers), Michael Brantley (Houston Astros) and Kyle Schwarber (Philadelphia Phillies) to round out the top five.
The New York Mets’ Brandon Nimmo (No. 6), Tyler O’Neill (St. Louis Cardinals), Pollock, Austin Meadows (Tampa Bay Rays) and Marcell Ozuna (Atlanta Braves) complete the top-10 rankings.
MLB Network analyst Vince Gennaro ranked Pollock the No. 6 left fielder in baseball, while Mike Petriello and Sarah Langs both have him one spot lower on their respective lists.
Pollock is coming off a productive season in which he batted .297/.355/.536 with 27 doubles, 21 home runs, 69 RBI and a career-best 137 wRC+ over 117 games, which were his most played since appearing in 157 during an All-Star campaign with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2015.
On top of his contributions at the plate, Pollock additionally was among the Dodgers named a Gold Glove Award finalist. However, he ultimately lost out to O’Neill.
Pollock missed some time due to two separate stints on the 10-day injured list for a left hamstring strain. That wound up being costly as he fell 11 plate appearances short of becoming eligible to opt out of his contract after the 2021 season.
Pollock remains under contract at $10 million for this season and has a $10 million player option for 2023 with a $5 million buyout. The value of the option can increase if Pollock exceeds certain plate appearance thresholds and finishes within the top 10 of MVP voting.
MLB Top-10 left fielders right now for 2022
| Rank | The Shredder | Mike Petriello | Sarah Langs | Vince Gennaro |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jesse Winker (Mariners) | Tyler O'Neill (Cardinals) | Tyler O'Neill (Cardinals) | Tyler O'Neill (Cardinals) |
| 2 | Joy Gallo (Yankees) | Michael Brantley (Astros) | Jesse Winker (Mariners) | Eloy Jiménez (White Sox) |
| 3 | Christian Yelich (Brewers) | Jesse Winker (Mariners) | Brandon Nimmo (Mets) | Jesse Winker (Mariners) |
| 4 | Michael Brantley (Astros) | Joey Gallo (Yankees) | Kyle Schwarber (Phillies) | Brandon Nimmo (Mets) |
| 5 | Kyle Schwarber (Phillies) | Eloy Jiménez (White Sox) | Eloy Jiménez (White Sox) | Michael Brantley (Astros) |
| 6 | Brandon Nimmo (Mets) | Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (Blue Jays) | Michael Brantley (Astros) | AJ Pollock (Dodgers) |
| 7 | Tyler O'Neill (Cardinals) | AJ Pollock (Dodgers) | AJ Pollock (Dodgers) | Kyle Schwarber (Phillies) |
| 8 | AJ Pollock (Dodgers) | Brandon Nimmo (Mets) | Joey Gallo (Yankees) | Christian Yelich (Brewers) |
| 9 | Austin Meadows (Rays) | Christian Yelich (Brewers) | Austin Meadows (Rays) | Robbie Grossman (Tigers) |
| 10 | Marcell Ozuna (Braves) | Austin Meadows (Rays) | Christian Yelich (Brewers) | LaMonte Wade Jr. (Giants) |
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