Dodger fans who have made the annual trek across the desert to Camelback Ranch this spring have been rewarded with what is arguably one of the most remarkable displays of power during batting practice in recent memory. Granted, hitting a 60-70 MPH batting practice meatball right over the middle of the plate is a lot different than trying to hit a 97 MPH Max Scherzer or Corey Kluber fastball, but the basic swing mechanics are the same.

Among those putting on a daily aerial display of incredible power are Dodgers top outfield prospect DJ Peters, outfielder Joc Pederson and former current Dodger Matt Kemp, also an outfielder.

“Work on the things that I need to work on and also capitalizing on all of my strengths,” said Peters, when asked by SportsNet LA’s Alanna Rizzo on what he hopes to improve upon this spring. “Just tapping into those guys, learning, being around Doc, being around [Dodgers hitting coach] Turner Ward, being around [Dodgers assistant hitting coach] Brant Brown.

“I’m excited for the experience and to just polish up my game a little bit,” Peters added. “And being with [Matt] Kemp, and being with CT [Chris Taylor] and being able to better myself there, and also bettering myself with my approach and stuff like that.

“I got the pleasure of being around JT [Justin Turner] and all those guys during the off-season, so I have one leg up, so I’m excited,” he said.

Although there is no score in batting practice, if there were, there is a very good chance that Dodgers top outfield prospect DJ Peters would win … every day. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

For those (still) unfamiliar with the 22-year-old Peters, he was selected by the Dodgers in the fourth round of the 2016 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Western Nevada College. All the 6′-6″ / 225-pound Glendora, California native and lifelong Dodger fan did was post a combined .302 / .394 / .548 / .952 slash line and hit a combined 40 home runs over his first two professional seasons with the Dodgers Rookie League Ogden Raptors and Advanced Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, completely bypassing the Low Single-A level. For good measure, he also won the prestigious 2017 Cal League MVP title.

During his first full week at spring training as a non-roster invitee, Peters has dazzled fans with a display of right-handed power during batting practice that resembled that of another Southern California native – Giancarlo Stanton – who, coincidentally, is also 6′-6″ but listed at 20 pounds heavier.

And then there’s Joc Pederson who, last week, hit two batting practice home runs that went an estimated 500 feet to straightaway right field.

“What I like most about Joc is that he is using the middle of the field more instead of trying to pull everything,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts after that day’s BP. “He’s driving the ball up the middle more and that a good thing.”

Surprisingly, Pederson himself didn’t notice this.

“Just trying to hit more line drives, I think,” said the 25-year-old Palo Alto, California native and Dodgers 11th-round draft pick in 2010. “Continuing to perfect my craft.”

Asked if he had worked with anyone in particular this off-season to accomplish his goal, Pederson was even more vague.

“Just been working really hard this off-season to try to get better at that type of stuff.”

Pederson may not be hitting as many BP bombs as DJ Peters has been hitting every day, but he’s hit several of the longest. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

And then there’s Matt Kemp, who has been repeatedly described as being in outstanding shape and, in fact, is.

“I think I’ve got a lot to offer, a lot of knowledge,” said the 33-year-old Midwest City, Oklahoma native, who has been in the league for 12 seasons now. “There’s a good group of young kids here that are really good; I come after them, they come after me. I don’t think anybody knows what their role is and I’ll do whatever I can to help the team.”

Although Kemp may have declined a bit in his defense, he still swings a powerful bat … at least in BP.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Like Peters and Pederson, Kemp has been absolutely crushing it in the early goings this spring; so much so that he is not only impressing his manager, but also thoroughly impressing Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. In fact, when asked if there was a realistic chance of Kemp winning a full time outfield spot, Friedman left nothing to the imagination.

“I think it’s very real,” said Friedman. “I think in talking to him this winter, him talking to other guys on our team that he has history with, I think the thing he appreciates is that all we care about is winning. And so whatever puts us in the best position to win games, we’re going to do.

“It’s not a situation of a rebuilding team where we say ‘Actually we need to get this young guy some at-bats so, sorry, it’s going to come at the expense of you.’ And so he was very excited about the challenge and the ability to go out and compete, and we’re excited to watch him play.”

But is the Dodgers top executive $43 million excited, or might he be more excited about the possibility of finding a team willing to take on that financial obligation that has his team once again uncomfortably close to the competitive balance tax threshold?

“I think we’re going into it with a really open mind, and so we don’t know what’s going to happen today … tomorrow,” Friedman said. “From his standpoint in terms of what he can control, he’s done everything we could have possibly asked and fitting in really well as he’s reacclimating, and he really wants to do all he can to show us where he’s at physically.

“He’s obviously gifted in the batters box but has kind of regressed some and slipped some defensively in the recent past,” added Friedman. “But in the conversations that we’ve had with him, I think his mindset is to show that he is that Gold Glove-caliber outfielder that he was in the past.”

Where things really get complicated is that Yasiel Puig, Chris Taylor, Kiké Hernandez, Rob Segedin, Trayce Thompson, Andrew Toles, Alex Verdugo, Yusniel Diaz, Henry Ramos, and Travis Taijeron are also competing for an outfield spot. That’s a total of 13 guys vying for three spots plus (perhaps) two bench spots. And although having a very good defensive outfield is extremely important and cannot be understated, it’s hard to ignore that incredible crack of the bat, followed by that majestic flight of a ball that clears the outfield fence by 40, 50, or even 100 feet … or more.

But hey … it’s only batting practice, right?