Dodgers: Joc Pederson’s Rebound Season is Flying Under the Radar

The Dodgers lineup is full of stellar hitters from the top of the lineup to the bottom of the order with Yasiel Puig.  One of the best seasons is coming from the man who often hits at the top of the lineup, Joc Pederson.

Joc Pederson had an interesting start to his 2018 season.  In April, Joc hit .298 but he hit only one home run.  In May, Joc hit .211 and once again the home run numbers were not there as Joc didn’t hit a single home run in May and posted an OPS of .602.

After two months of the 2018 regular season, Joc Pederson had just one home run and his average was middling around .250 with just one home run.  Many fans thought this was it for Joc as he had a strong postseason showing in the 2017 World Series, but his 2017 season was a constant struggle.

Then June came along, and Joc Pederson was one of the best hitters in baseball.  Joc hit ten home runs to go along with a .283 average and .867 slugging percentage.  More impressive than the power numbers was that Joc struck out just nine times in 60 at-bats which for a strikeout-prone hitter is a big improvement.

While Joc still remains more of a platoon player, he is absolutely mashing right-handed pitching this season.  Against righties, Joc has a .283/.366/.588 line to go along with a .954 OPS.  All sixteen of Joc’s home runs have come against right-handed pitchers.

This season, Joc has posted a wRC+ of 133.  That puts him ahead of notable power hitters such as Giancarlo Stanton, Kyle Schwarber, and Rhys Hoskins.  For those who aren’t sure what wRC+ is, it takes runs created per plate appearance and adjusts it for factors such as ballparks played in.

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Not only has Joc put together a solid season at the plate, he has improved in the outfield.  Last season in left field and center field, Joc posted a -11.9 UZR/150 rating.  This season at left field, right field, and center field, Joc has posted a -1.9 UZR/150 rating.  While this is still slightly below average, it’s a big improvement on Joc’s 2017 season.

Joc has made several plays in the outfield this season where he has shown off his arm and gunned out runners at the plate, or second base.  In past seasons, Pederson was not making many highlight reel plays with his arm but this season has been different, especially when Joc is in left field.

How the rest of the 2018 season goes for Joc Pederson remains to be seen.  He is known to be a streaky hitter who goes cold for long stretches but since June, Joc has been pretty consistent in the power department.  If it went the Dodgers way, Joc will have another strong postseason showing, with the World Series ending a little differently.

It’s easy to lose focus on a guy like Joc especially now that the Dodgers have Manny Machado and Brian Dozier.  Then there are still big names like Justin Turner, Yasiel Puig, and Cody Bellinger but don’t forget about Joc, who sits atop the order and is having quite the rebound season for the boys in blue.