The Los Angeles Dodgers top prospect has had one heck of a year, and despite the minor league season quickly coming to a close, the season is not over for Joc Pederson. Pederson was recently named to the all Pacific Coast League team, the league’s Rookie of the Year, and MVP. Pederson became the 112th player in PCL history to join the 30/30 club, and is now a big leaguer.
The Dodgers will be calling Pederson up as part of what will be a slew of September call-ups. Pederson his over .303 with 30 home runs and 30 steals in 121 games in Triple-A and is arguably the best big league ready defensive center fielder employed by the Dodgers.
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Pederson joins an outfield that already has Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp, Carl Crawford, Andre Ethier, and Scott Van Slyke, but he has certainly earned his shot with the big league club. He has a minor league career average over .300 and OPS of .929.
While he is one of the bigger names that will be called up in September, he does not have any tool that really plays as a real plus. Pederson’s value comes in the fact he is as well rounded a prospect as there is in the high minors. He ranks above-average in all five tools, but not any single tool on its own will wow anyone.
I got to see him some in the spring, and it was clear to me he was not ready for the big leagues despite many Dodger fans clamoring for him to break camp with the club. His approach at the plate and defense were screaming immature at times, but overall he was solid, just not ready. He now has a full season in Triple-A where he was the best player in the league and has rightfully earned his spot on the big league roster.