Player of the Week – Yohel Pozo

Is there any other option?

With just three starts this past week, there was still no other choice for player of the week than Yohel Pozo. Pozo has a great story and certainly had a great week, with three pretty good games.

Pozo had a long journey here. Pozo signed with the Texas Rangers out of Venezuela in 2013. COVID came at the worst possible time for him. He has just finished a season at High A and was a below average hitter.

Then his infant son had a stroke. No season, no job, no health insurance; in order to pay for treatment he and his family were forced to live out of his car. His son recovered, but his family always travels with him so he can be there if something happens.

They were there when he made his “second debut” because he hadn’t been in the majors since the 2021 season — he actually played most of that season in AAA with a 133 wRC+. When he was promoted to the majors, he was mostly at DH.

He was 24 then. Now he’s 27 and taking advantage of the opportunity he’s been given. On Monday he homered in a game the St. Louis Cardinals lost. He was also credited by Liberatore for a good adjustment when things didn’t go well for him in the 2nd. He also threw out a runner attempting to steal.

He got his next start on Friday. He drove in the first run in a game that the Cardinals could not buy a hit with runners in scoring position. It still wasn’t a hit with RISP, but the double drove in a runner from first. He got two other hits in a 3-4 game.

And today, he hit another double to help put the game away, going 1-4. He’s destined to get sent down when Ivan Herrera comes back, but he can make it as difficult as possible. So far, that’s what he’s doing.