Los Angeles Dodgers: Joc Pederson has been excellent, but consistency is key
Los Angeles Dodgers Joc Pederson is currently holding one of the hottest bats across baseball. Has his new approach set up him for just another hot streak, or will he finally produce a complete, consistent season?
For years, Joc Pederson was regarded as one of the Los Angeles Dodgers top prospects. He possessed a tantalizing skill set, and slugged his way onto the All-Star team during his rookie campaign. Although he did finish with the year with 26 homers, he fell off a cliff in the second half by hitting just .178.
He produced a slightly bumpy, but overall quality season the following year in 2016. (25 HR, 3.3 WAR) However, last year proved brutal for Joc, as he was mired in misery through most of the 2017 season. (.212, 11 HR, -0.3 WAR)
While his defense has been the epitome of average, the outfielder is currently in the midst of what could prove to finally be his true breakout season. He is hitting .287 with a 151 OPS + and a 1.444 slugging percentage (yes slugging percentage) thus far in June.
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He has hit seven home runs in the last two weeks, a stretch that could probably be labeled the best of his entire career. Surprisingly, he’s doing most of his damage away from Chavez Ravine, as he is hitting .140 points higher on the road.
He’s doing something that few around the league are doing, worrying less about home runs in an effort to put together consistent at-bats.
Pederson may always be known as someone who will never me able to hit left-handers, but he is obliterating right-handed pitching with an OPS of 1.001 against them. The Dodgers will need him to continue doing just that with their prized lefty swinging shortstop Corey Seager out for the season for the Dodgers.
He struggled for most of the first month of the season, but that hasn’t stopped him from staying with his new approach. Pederson said:
"I used to get really frustrated over not getting the results there, and I would hop on things, hop off things instead of sticking to the process. If the results aren’t there, hopefully they’re there tomorrow. And you know they’ll be there if you put in the same consistent work every day.”"
That consistency has led to, well, consistency for the Dodgers. Joc Pederson may finally be on the verge of breaking out, not for a month at a time but for a full season. He’s no longer trying to hit the ball to Disneyland every single swing, as evidenced by his lone home run through the first month-plus of the season.
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He’s taking his doubles in stride, as he is on pace for a new career high in that category. He has also his risen his batting average 60 points above his career average. Let’s give the kid credit for finally adjusting; which is paying dividends for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Thanks to his new approach, he seems to finally have found what he’s been searching for his entire career. Consistency.