Pederson, and Gonzalez Still Within numberFire’s Top Ten Nerd Ranking
By Scott Andes

The punch-less Dodgers may not be able to hit, but there’s two guys that are certainly not part of that problem. Of course I am talking about outfielder Joc Pederson, and first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. Despite the Dodgers scoring just one run again in Friday night’s 2-1 loss to the Cardinals, they still have two of the most productive hitters in all of MLB.
According to numberFire’s weekly Nerd rankings for hitters (number of expected runs contributed) Pederson, and Gonzalez rank within the top ten, with Pederson at number ten, and Gonzalez holding at the fifth spot. Washington’s outfielder Bryce Harper tops the list again at number one.
Top Hitters:
Rank | Player | Team | nERD | Last Week |
1 | Bryce Harper | Washington Nationals | 6.49 | 1 |
2 | Paul Goldschmidt | Arizona Diamondbacks | 5.63 | 3 |
3 | Anthony Rizzo | Chicago Cubs | 4.80 | 5 |
4 | Nelson Cruz | Seattle Mariners | 4.38 | 2 |
5 | Adrian Gonzalez | Los Angeles Dodgers | 4.36 | 6 |
6 | Josh Donaldson | Toronto Blue Jays | 4.32 | 7 |
7 | Prince Fielder | Texas Rangers | 4.20 | 4 |
8 | Miguel Cabrera | Detroit Tigers | 3.93 | 9 |
9 | Todd Frazier | Cincinnati Reds | 3.75 | 12 |
10 | Joc Pederson | Los Angeles Dodgers | 3.67 | 19 |
Entering the Top 10: Todd Frazier, Joc Pederson
Falling out of the Top 10: Lucas Duda, Jason Kipnis
Gonzalez is batting .338 (67 for 198) with 11 home runs, and 39 runs batted in with a 1.030 OPS in 227 plate appearances. Joc is batting .262 with 17 home runs and 33 runs batted in. This season Joc has posted a .981 OPS in 228 plate appearances.
Joc and Gonzo have been carrying the club since opening day. Without those two, the Dodgers would be truly lost. We’ll check in with numberFire again next week to see the latest nerd rankings.