September 9th, 2014 at 6:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka As crazy as it sounds, there are already some Dodger fans who have thrown in the towel on 22-year-old top Dodgers prospect Joc Pederson after only one week in the big leagues which, of course, is ludicrous. Pederson, who was called up to the Show on September 1, has had all of 17 plate appearance in which he is 2 for 14 (.143) with two walks and a sacrifice bunt.
But for Dodger fans who can get past Pederson’s seven strikeouts and who have been watching his at-bats closely, it’s easy to see why he was named the Pacific Coast League’s MVP, where he led the league in home runs (33), runs (106), total bases (259), on-base percentage (.435), OPS (1.017) and walks (100). He is also the first player in the PCL to go 30/30 since 1934.
“I’m getting pitched a little different than I did in the minor leagues,” said Pederson. “It’s a little adjustment period but it will come with time. I’m not worried about it, I definitely put up a lot worse numbers in the minor leagues in 17 at-bats.”
What really stands out about Pederson is his ability to his lefties. In fact, at Triple-A Albuquerque he hit .299 against left-handers and .306 against right-handers. And for Dodger fans who were at Saturday night’s 5-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium (or were among the few who were fortunate enough to see it on TV), you got to witness Pederson’s incredible power to left field when he missed his first MLB home run by inches off of Dbacks right-hander Daniel Hudson.
Pederson missed an opposite field home run by less than a foot in Saturday night’s exciting come-from-behind 5-2 win over the Dbacks. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
And then on Sunday afternoon Pederson absolutely smoked a line drive into the left field gap off of Dbacks right-hander Matt Stites. In fact, had he not hit it quite so hard it probably would have fallen for a double but instead was caught by Dbacks center fielder Ender Inciarte on the dead run.
In spite of his seven strikeouts in 14 at-bats, when Pederson makes contact he hits the ball extremely hard – as he did on Sunday afternoon just missing a gap double. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
“It’s baseball, you know,” added Pederson. “If some of the balls go the other way it’s a whole different story, so it’s all good.”
With only 18 games remaining for the Dodgers and the NL West title still up for grabs, Pederson is going to have to get hot in a hurry if he has any aspirations of being included on the playoff roster. To compound matters for Pederson, the Dodgers offense seems to be heating up from top to bottom which could cut into his playing time in the final three weeks of the season. As such, Joc needs to start hitting the ball whenever he gets an at-bat and those opportunities may become scarce for the young outfielder regardless of how well he did in the minors.
But even if Pederson doesn’t make the postseason roster, it’s probably safe to say that he will soon be on another roster – the Dodgers opening day roster on April 6, 2015.
Godspeed to you @yungjoc650.
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RT @Think_BlueLA: New: Be patient Dodger fans – Joc Pederson is close – http://t.co/3611ixRChl #Dodgers @yungjoc650
Totally agree. I have been watching him pretty closely and have been impressed with his ability to hit the ball hard even though it is not noted in his batting average. His tendency for strikeouts we knew about as his minor league stats have consistently shown. Seems like today there are a lot of young prospect who have this issue but when they hit it hard, it goes. The most impressive thing that will serve him well is his ability to hit lefties and use the opposite field. There are a lot of established major-leaguers who haven’t figured that one out. It is an art. The best part of this September call up for Pederson is that he will no doubt have the opportunity to work with Mark McGuire who can fine tune his swing and approach at the plate.
It seems the only outfielder, besides Ethier of course, that’s not making it any easier for Pederson to make the team this year is Puig. Kemp and Crawford are hot as firecrackers lately and it will do the team well if they stay that way.
Folks seem to think that the steps to MLB are incremental like a staircase but they aren’t. The step to MLB from AA or AAA is huge. Joc already knows that and will adjust. It will take some time, maybe into 2015.
Excuse the ignorant question here, but I thought a player had to have played at least one game prior to September 1st, or at least be on the active roster prior to the call-up date, in order to be eligible for the postseason? If that’s the case, then isn’t Joc ineligible and would
move to the secondary squad if the Dodgers make the postseason?
Perhaps this will explain it for you: Postseason Rosters