For as much as Joc Pederson has been heralded for his defense in center field, consistency and production at the plate have largely remained an issue throughout his four-plus seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
A prolonged skid led to Pederson losing his starting job down the stretch of the 2015 season. He reported to Spring Training the following year with a new swing that no longer featured a high leg kick. He spoke with a renewed focus on using all parts of the field.
It produced improve results, though Pederson has regularly tinkered with his stance over the past season. His most drastic change arguably came last Friday when Pederson stood at the plate in more of a crouch with the bat parallel to his body.
That seemingly played a role in the Dodgers optioning Pederson to Triple-A Oklahoma City in a corresponding move to activating newly-acquired Curtis Granderson.
According to Daniel Kramer of MLB.com, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts believes the Triple-A setting will be more conducive to Pederson ironing out his mechanics:
“But right now, where he’s at in the middle of a swing change, trying to get some consistency, and in a Major League setting, it’s really hard to continue to perform when you’re looking at the scoreboard, when you’re looking at your average, and trying to win baseball games. So, for him to go to OKC (Oklahoma City) and take a breath, I think it’ll be good for him.”
Pederson was mired in a 2-for-41 slump that spanned 15 games (12 starts). Although he only managed two hits dating back to July 29, each RBI double came in a key moment for the Dodgers.
The first tied a game late against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Aug. 9, and the second provided the Dodgers with an insurance run in the series opener against the Detroit Tigers.
Pederson is batting .215/.329/.418 with 18 doubles, 11 home runs, 33 RBI, a .324 wOBA and 101 wRC+ in 87 (68 starts) this season. He was hitting .248/.359/.481 through 72 games (56 starts) before the skid began.
Although the circumstances were different, the Dodgers have already reaped the benefits of sending an outfielder to Oklahoma City, as Yasiel Puig returned from his demotion an improved batter and teammate. Pederson started in left field in his first game with OKC.
