Dodgers: Analyzing the Viable Options to start in Left Field

Joc Pederson

Oh, how fast baseball can bite you. Joc was once the everyday center fielder for the best team in baseball, but now he is fighting to even touch the field. Pederson has struggled mightily this season. His poor performance all culminated to a demotion when Granderson was acquired. Joc was sent to Triple-A Oklahoma City in hopes that it would get him back on track as it did for Yasiel Puig last season.

But rather than step up and perform in AAA he fell down and fluttered. He hit .169 with 14 strikeouts in his 17 games in OKC. He has not done any better since coming back up to the big leagues. Going 1 for 10 in his limited playing time with the team this month.

Though Joc has struggled as of late, he can turn it around at any moment and become a very dangerous bat. He is a player to watch very closely for the remainder of the season. Left field isn’t exactly thought of as a big time defensive position, but it would not hurt to have a big time defensive player out there holding it down. Roberts has already shown his commitment to Taylor in center field and who can blame him as Taylor leads the team in outfield assist.

Something that may be enticing for Roberts about Joc is that notion of having lightning in a bottle with Joc. He can have some very frustrating at-bats, but he can also be an offensive spark plug and another power bat in the lineup. Just like in last season’s NLDS when he started the scoring during game 5 with a big fly. He can get the entire team going with his energy and pop which could be reason enough to give him a shot to start in LF.