Los Angeles Dodgers: Alex Verdugo deserves time over Joc Pederson
By Jason Reed
The third outfield job for the Los Angeles Dodgers was up in the air entering spring training and it appears as if Joc Pederson won the job.
The Los Angeles Dodgers had several position battles to decide entering spring training, one of which was in left field between slugger Joc Pederson and top prospect Alex Verdugo.
Pederson was coming off of his best season in which he reinvented himself as a power-hitting lead-off man that came up with some big shots in big moments.
Meanwhile, Verdugo was coming off of yet another fantastic year in the minor leagues and an offseason in which the Dodgers did not trade him. The team was at a crossroads where it was either time to move on and trade him or give him his due. LA appeared to choose the latter.
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Dave Roberts has not come out and made a definitive choice but it appears as if it is not Verdugo.
Pederson is getting starts at lead-off in left field and Chris Taylor has even entered the mix and started in left after losing his position battle to Enrique Hernandez at second base.
The only news around Verdugo is that the team anticipates Verdugo to make the Opening Day roster. If it isn’t definitive yet whether or not he will make the roster then he probably won’t be the one getting the most playing time.
Which is absurd. I know the argument around Verdugo is that he has not proven anything yet and he has not excelled in spring. Prospects are just prospects until they prove it. I agree with that.
However, Verdugo has looked really good in certain flashes this spring and provides an all-around more impactful skill set than that of Pederson.
Look, I love Joc Pederson. He is really good as a pinch-hitting power option that can come in late in games in certain matchups as well as filling in with spot starts in the outfield.
He is rather one-dimensional. He is a power-hitting left-handed bat that strikes out a lot. Sure, he is coming off his best year, but he has proven that his best year is a ~.250 average, ~25 home runs and a 126 wRC+.
That wRC+ number is solid but that is peak Pederson. We have enough of a sample size to make that claim. The main problem with Pederson is that he is far too inconsistent and last time he came off of a great year (2016), he followed it with an awful year (2017).
Verdugo’s ceiling is higher than the ceiling that Pederson has showcased, even if Verdugo does not hit it in 2019. Either way, Verdugo’s approach at the plate and ability to consistently make hard contact and use his speed to get on base is more reliable.
Plus, the Dodgers already have two left-handed power-hitting bats that have a tendency to strike out: Cody Bellinger and Alex Verdugo. The team doesn’t really have a speedy left-handed outfielder who hit AAA southpaws at a high level and can steal bases and make things happen.
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Joc Pederson is great and he should have an impactful role on the Los Angeles Dodgers, it just shouldn’t be in the starting lineup.