Dodgers: Making a Case For and Against Every Left Field Competitor

Joc Pederson

Case for Joc Pederson:

After making the All-Star game his rookie season, he has struggled ever since. Still, he could be helpful for this team. His biggest strength comes defensively. He was a very good center field, and I would imagine that would translate to him being an elite defender in left field.

He has some of the best ball reactions in baseball, doesn’t have blazing speed yet he seems to track down every ball and puts his body on the line while doing it. Aside from his defense, he brings energy to the team. That is why manager Dave Roberts has a special connection with him.

The World Series was proof on how he could energize the team.  His bat is lightning in a bottle. He could go yard at any moment, and that is always good to have in a lineup. Consistency will be a key factor for him to earn his spot back in the lineup.

Case against Pederson:

Like I said Joc can be a spark plug for this team when he is on. The problem is he has rarely been on. He can have some of the most frustrating at-bats on the team. His swing can get a bit too long for his own good, and his power numbers have not been enough to offset his offensive woes.

The Dodgers would be happy to deal with strikeouts if he was putting up the power numbers to counter that. However, Joc has just been unproductive. He looked like he figured it all out during the playoffs but, he came to spring training and has looked horrendous.

Pederson is currently playing his way out of a spot with his lack of production this spring. When it comes to Joc; if things are going good, boy are they going good, but, when things are going bad he can become unwatchable at times, and that is what hurts his stock mightily.