Los Angeles Dodgers center-fielder Joc Pederson makes amazing juggling catch to remind Dodgers why they traded Matt Kemp.
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In an MLB exhibition game against the Angels in Los Angeles on Thursday, new Dodgers center-fielder Joc Pederson made an amazing diving, juggling catch and pretty much erased any doubt that the team wasn’t better off trading Matt Kemp.
He somehow snagged the ball just before it hit the ground, rolled, got up, juggled it for a second and made the catch. Pretty snazzy.
The Dodgers traded former outfielder Matt Kemp in the offseason, partially to make room for Pederson, as noted by The Big Lead, who was rated as a better defensive fielder. Pederson has put together a nice Spring Training campaign, including a 1.147 OPS during that time. He’s most likely going to be in the running for NL Rookie of the Year along with the Cubs Kris Bryant.
The Dodgers lost to the Angels in a close one at 3-2 as Pederson batted eighth and went one for three in Thursday night’s game, which included an RBI double. His batting average now sits at .367. Pederson is considered a top or middle of the order bat, but he’s on a team with no shortage of good bats and manager Don Mattingly appears set on making the rookie prove that he should be further up in the lineup. If Spring Training is a barometer, then Pederson should start the season batting seventh or eighth, depending on who starts at catcher. A.J. Ellis usually bats eighth when he starts at catcher.
Pederson has a good outlook with a few downsides. In 2014, he was the standard three true outcomes type of player. In other words, he either hit a home run, walked or struck out. The last 60 games he played at Triple-A offered a mixed bag. His slugging kept improving, but his on-base and batting average went down. That makes how he’s doing in Spring Training this year look a little more optimistic ultimately.
There’s no doubt that Pederson has all the tools to make it in the bigs, including the intangibles like will and motivation. He’s also surrounded by a bunch of veterans and productive bats, thus he shouldn’t feel pressured to carry the load. Staying at the bottom of the order should be good for him as well. It’s a no-pressure situation and it’s good for the Dodgers. There aren’t very many other teams with good production at that spot in the lineup.
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