Atlanta Braves add Joc Pederson: what fans should expect
By Fred Owens
Joc Pederson
The Dodgers selected Pederson in the 11th round of the 2010 draft. MLB ranked him a top-100 prospect from 2013 through 2015; Baseball American and Baseball Prospectus agreed in 2014 and 2015.
Pederson had a cup of coffee with the Dodgers in 2014 and joined their active roster in 2015. His calling card is a power bat; from his first full season through 2019, he banged out 123 homers, 102 doubles, and seven triples while batting .234/.339/.479/.818 with a 119 OPS+, good for 10.1 rWAR from BBR.
Fangraphs says those seasons were worth .348 wOBA, 120 wRC+, and 13.1 fWAR, placing him in a tie as the 21st of 137 qualified outfielders in fWAR.
Joc Pederson is on a flight now, Snitker thinks he’ll be here for the game, but he won’t be in #Braves lineup tonight. Going forward, the plan is for him to bat leadoff and be the regular right fielder.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) July 16, 2021
Production
The analytically driven Dodger front office decided Pederson was strictly a platoon bat, in 2017 dropping his plate appearances in that season. However, injuries gave Pederson a chance to play more often in 2018 and 2019, and he produced at a very high level.
| Year | PA | HR | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | wOBA | wRC+ | fWAR |
| 2018 | 443 | 25 | .248 | .321 | .522 | .843 | .354 | 126 | 2.7 |
| 2019 | 514 | 36 | .249 | .339 | .538 | .876 | .362 | 127 | 3 |
| Totals | 957 | 61 | .249 | .331 | .530 | .861 | .358 | 127 | 5.8 |
Over the same two-year period, the Atlanta Braves outfield (as a group) batted .292/.369/.437/.806 with a .346 wOBA and 113 wRC+ and 4.4 fWAR.
Like almost every player, Pederson started 2021 slowly. He began to turn things around when the calendar flipped to May. Since May 5, he’s batting .254/.310/.443/.753, including 10 homers, 11 doubles, and a triple, good for a .331 wOBA and 108 wRC+.
Postseason beast
The Atlanta Braves added another trait they needed, a dangerous postseason bat. Pederson loves postseason play and has a résumé that shows he’s a force in postseason play.
In 64 postseason games, he batted .272/.349/.503/.852, with eight doubles and nine homers. He’s been particularly hard on the Braves; 11-32 with three homers and a .344/.382/.563/.945 line.