Why I Hate Joc Pederson
Some people evidently think I hate Joc, so I went with that catchy headline. In reality, I am not a hater. I don t hate Joc Pederson and I don t even hate the Giants. I don t like the Giants but I don t hate them. I love the Dodgers, but the opposite of LOVE is not HATE. It s ambivalence. When you hate something, it controls you. If you are ambivalent about it,
Some people evidently think I hate Joc, so I went with that catchy headline. In reality, I am not a hater. I don’t hate Joc Pederson and I don’t even hate the Giants. I don’t like the Giants but I don’t hate them. I love the Dodgers, but the opposite of LOVE is not HATE. It’s ambivalence. When you hate something, it controls you. If you are ambivalent about it, you are back in control.
So, the reality is that I don’t hate Joc Pederson. I don’t even dislike him. I may love certain players. I loved it when Andrew Friedman traded for Yasmani Grandal. I envisioned a 30 HR guy with a .370 OB% who would provide a stellar defense. He got close to the 30 HR plateau, but his hot or cold streaks just became untenable and his passed balls, while not as bad as some fans made them out to be, became a distraction. If he would have taken the arbitration offer, the Dodgers would have been happy to have him back, but I am not sure they would be the better for it.
I was a big fan of Yasmani – I still don’t understand his post-season meltdown last year, but fan or not, it was time for him to move on. I wish him success except when he plays the Dodgers and the last I checked, his worst month of the season was May when he hit .271. He has cut down on his strikeouts by about 10% and is hitting .282 with a .385 OB% while OPS’ing .930 and hitting 15 HR. Right about now, he should be the starting catcher for the NL at the All-Star Game. Lots of fans hated Yasmani – I loved the guy, but his moving on was the right move.
Now, back to the title of this blog. I do not hate Joc, it is just that he has the same wild swings as Yasmani did – red hot or ice cold and my eyes, let alone the stats tell me that he has a hole in his swing the size of the Grand Canyon against Left-Handed Pitchers. It is my opinion that he will never hit lefties.
Andre Ethier was a career .303 hitter… against RHP. Against LHP, he hit .233. For his career, Joc is a .240 hitter against RHP, but he is 53 points below Andre against LHP – .180. Anyone who believes he can hit lefties is possibly delusional and probably believes these two guys are real too:
Now, I suppose I could be wrong. I was wrong when Joc was still in the minors when I said the best he would ever be was a 4th or 5th outfielder. A miracle could happen and he could suddenly start hitting lefties. Shoot, I might suddenly start looking like Brad Pitt. The latter is probably more likely than the former. Earlier, I said Joc’s career BA against lefties is .180. This year it has dropped to .167.
Max Muncy and Cody Bellinger have learned to hit lefties and both play every day because of it. When Joc is hot, he’s hot and when he’s not he’s really, really not. His clutch stats (baseball-reference.com has a whole category on that) are not good, which is why Doc bats him at leadoff a lot. If telling the truth is hating on Joc, then You Can’t Stand the Truth. Joc hits a lot of Home Runs… most of the solo variety. He is one of the TOP Home Run Hitters in baseball and of all the TOP HR Hitters, he has by far the fewest RBI. He still has more Home Runs and singles.
Now that Yasmani is gone, the Dodgers have one fewer “all or nothing” player and Joc is a better fit since Kike or CT3 generally hit lefties and are a good platoon partner for him. I would love to have a right-handed power hitter in LF who plays every day and I would trade Joc for that guy or as part of a deal. It’s no secret that I like Nick Castellanos (who has dramatically improved his defense). Then you are going to look at his stats and say “he’s not as good as Joc.” Nick is now an average outfielder (Mike Petriello said that) and he is on a team that is really bad and he has “checked out.” He knows he will be traded, The Dodgers need another RH Bat in the lineup.
Don’t look at Casty’s current stats. Andrew Friedman looks at what they can become, not necessarily what they are. On a good team with a tight-knit clubhouse and under Robert Von Socyoc’s discipline, I think Nicholas Castellanos could be a very good hitter. I loved Yasmani Grandal and I envisioned what he could become. He never realized that potential in LA and I also see huge potential in Casty. Max Muncy looks to be a LH batter who hits lefties, the same is true with Cody, Corey and Alex. Joc doesn’t and I don’t think he ever will. If the Dodgers had an excellent RH platoon partner for Joc, I might feel differently.
I like Joc, but I think he is the “odd-man-out” if the team could get a RH power bat. OK, maybe Castellanos is not the guy and so let’s say the Dodgers do keep Joc. Hunter Pence has re-tooled his swing and is having a nice year. He should be cheap as Texas is rebuilding and he is absolutely killing lefties. I’ll take him and keep Joc. Does that make you happy?
Dodger News and Notes
- To those of you who say Alex Verdugo has no power, did you see the laser that left his bat at 109 mph and went out at 459 feet in right-center field? His power will come. Mark my words.
- The Rays team ERA has been steadily crawling up. It’s now 3.02 while the Dodgers is trending down. It’s 3.25. I can see LA in the ERA lead by the break. The Dodgers starters are now 2.76 in ERA while TB is 2.72.
- The Dodgers bats have cooled off with Seager on the IL and others slumping. The Dodgers are now 10th in MLB in Runs, 7th in HR, 7th in BA, #3 in OPS, but #1 in OB%. It will swing back as other players heat up. It’s the nature of the beast.
- It looks like Julio Urias will get a start soon. Of course, if someone goes on the IL, it will come sooner…
- Alex Verdugo continues to WOW me in CF. I can’t figure out how he got faster?
- Ross Stripling pitched a very masterful inning in relief.
Minor League Report by DC
Great Lakes Loons 6 – Dayton Dragons 3 (Cincinnati)
The Loons before a Father’s Day crowd of over 4,500 kept on winning in the usual fashion. That is, by putting the ball in play, hitting with two strikes and capitalizing on their opponent’s mistakes. With a 43-24 record in the first half through 67 games, .642 is the best winning percentage in franchise history for a first half.
On Sunday afternoon they spotted the Dragons two runs in the third innings and came back with six over the next four innings. In the fourth inning three runs scored on singles by James Outman and Dan Robinson helped out with a Dayton error. Two more came across in the fifth inning on two singles, an error and a Hunter Feduccia sacrifice fly. The last one in the sixth inning scored on a Gersel Pitre single following two walks.
On the mound the plan worked. That is, to use no starting pitcher. Jasiel Alvino pitched the first three innings giving up three runs, two earned and struck out five. Mark Washington pitched the next three on just one hit and Joel Inoa finished up by allowing one run in his three innings.
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 5 – Lake Elsinore Storm 11 ( San Diego)
The Quakes kind of took Father’s Day off. The pitchers basically couldn’t get anybody out. Starter Geraldo Carrillo gave up two runs without getting out of the first inning while Wes Helsabeck coughed up five runs in less than two innings. Bryan Warzek did break the trend with 1.1 scoreless innings while Austin Drury didn’t fare as badly as others with one run in 2.1 innings. Sven Schuller was unable to complete his two innings after surrendering three more runs. Outfielder Nick Yarnell came on to get the last out in the top of the eighth inning and pitch a scoreless ninth inning.
At the plate not very much was happening with three hits, two of them doubles by Donvan Casey and Jordan Procyshen accounting for the Quake run in the fifth inning. Things stayed that way until the bottom of the ninth as they scored four runs on a Starling Heredia single, a fielder’s choice, a Jeter Downs double and a passed ball.
Tulsa Drillers 1 – Amarillo Sod Poodles 2 (San Diego)
The Drillers got locked in a tight itching contest with the Amarillo. How is it possible to do that with Sod Poodles? Left-hander Victor Gonzalez pitched six innings for Tulsa giving up one run on five hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Right-hander Jesse Scholtens matched Gonzalez also with six innings and one run. Yordy Cabrera picked up Gonzalez in the seventh inning and pitched two scoreless innings with Shea Spitzbarth coming on in the bottom of the ninth inning. Unfortunately he gave up a run to take the loss.
Offensively the Drillers scored their lone run in the top of the first inning on a Gavin Lux single, a stolen base by Lux and a Cody Thomas double. They did match the Sod Poodles with eight hits, three by Lux and two by Keibert Ruiz.
OKC Dodgers 7 – El Paso Chihuahuas 10 (San Diego)
Left-hander Rob Zastryzny started for the Dodgers and quickly spotted El Paso three runs in the bottom of the first inning and another three by the end of the fourth inning. Stetson Allie allowed another run in his inning pitched while Justin Grimm chipped in with three more earned runs. The Dodgers tried to keep pace with a Will Smith solo home run in the top of the first inning and a two-run home run by Zach Reks in the third inning. They crept one run closer in the fifth when pitcher Rob Zastryzny was allowed to hit and singled eventually scoring on two wild pitches and a Connor Joe single. Edwin Rios homered in the top of the sixth inning to keep the Dodgers within two. They actually tied the score at seven in the top of the seventh inning on singles by Blake Gailen, Errol Robinson and Angelo Mora with a wild pitch tossed in. However, seven wasn’t enough to win the day. How is it possible to give 10 runs to Chihuahuas?
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Discussion (63)
Disagree, not disagreeable
I generally agree with your post Mark. Joc is a solid major leaguer who can’t hit lefties. At his best he is a streaky hitter who wows you with power. The dodger brass do not think he can hit lefties and think they have better options than giving him an extended look. So, I agree he is the odd man out. But, he will remain a dodger until they have a better option. When pollock comes back I would prefer to give him the bulk of the time in left and leave verdugo in center. There is enough playing time for all. Somebody could be trade bait and verdugo has the highest upside so joc, Taylor, kike could be involved.
Unfortunately for Milwaukee grandal will come back to earth and it will be a dramatic crash. Stripling did look good. He was throwing darts and seemed very confident. Verdugo is a fine player on both sides of the ball. It is huge that he can put the bat on the ball which will be crucial with the game on the line. martin looked like a junior high player totally overmatched and got lucky. Ryu was phenomenal last night. That was a playoff performance. He makes it look easy and demonstrates tremendous poise and confidence. He just needs to be pitching the way he can at the right time.
I’m totally okay with trading Joc for the right piece. With the positional flexibility the Dodgers enjoy, they can stand to put a right handed power hitter at second base, first base or in the outfield. That right handed power hitter is NOT Nick Castellanos because he sucks defensively. He has always sucked defensively no matter where you put him. He is as bad defensively as Joc is bad at hitting left handers.
Until then, I positively support Joc.
As a matter of fact, you can trade Joc and Kike in the same deal. Kike is another guy that’s always hot and cold and can’t hit same sided pitching. I don’t know why we don’t talk about showing him the door more often. Especially after his bone-headedness on the bases at the most inopportune times. Kike and CT3 are the same in that they can play anywhere. You don’t need both of the them, I would keep CT3 if I had to choose between the two.
I would not hesitate to trade Cartaya or K-Bear for the right return. I’m more than fine going with Will Smith and Barnes until Cartaya, or another young catcher develops. You don’t need both K-Bear and Smith anymore than you need both CT3 and Kike. However, I believe K-Bear is worth more than pretty much any closer judging by past trades for closers.
This is a very special team. But, we do have flaws. We have a hard time against pretty much every left hander we face and we need another closer type. We have prospects, use them!
On the ESPN broadcast yesterday they had a graphic showing relative arm strength for the Dodger outfielders. Verdugo was listed at 92 mph but Bellinger was listed at,I believe 83 mph. Anyone have a clue what they were talking about? Only thing I can come up with is they averaged throws back to the infield when he lobbed the ball back in or it was ESPN just being ESPN?
I do believe Jocs latest slump has started when I started reading about him having lower back issues. Maybe a factor, maybe not. And what did you mean that those guys are ‘not’ real?
As for Martin it looked like he had left his contacts out. his last strikeout he couldn’t even see the ball. Then just stuck out his bat a few times and got that lucky hit.
I support Joc because he is a Dodger. However it takes two players to fill one position. A good batter should be able to hit lefties and righties like Alex, Cody, Corey and Max. I just do not like platoons.
I like what Doc has done with Garlick and Beaty. He has given them a chance to play a little and both look good to me. They both look like good pinch hitters and pretty good defensively. I love Freese for the same reason. They know their role on the team and do it well.
In baseball you have more failures than successes. In batting, if you bat .333 you are considered very good, but you have failed 2 out of 3 times. We beat the Cubs 3 of 4 games. These players are human. They do not succeed all the time. It was a good game for Jansen. He struggled, but he battled. He still does not trust his off speed pitches. He will as time goes on.
Who is this Joc guy you are talking about. I had to look him up. One would think he would have more two and three run home runs seeing that he hits lead off and the Dodgers have such good OBP guys hitting 7th, 8th, and 9th ahead of him.
He hasn’t been the speedy power hitting, base stealing center fielder I hoped he would be but once I root for a player, I keep rooting for them. Joc historically has low BABIP and high exit velocity. That is an odd combination.
He is suffering from yet another 0 for 25 streak that he seems to get several times a year but at 4 PA per game that means he hasn’t helped for the last games 8 he has started and his hot streaks that follow those bad streaks carry the Dodger’s offence.
It’s not like he is not hitting the ball hard during his latest 0 for 25. He is hitting the ball right at people as opposed to striking out. His slumps are tied to BABIP.
Like him, hate him, trade him, be ambivalent about him–it won’t make him better or worse. But by the end of June he will have 24 home runs and be hitting .265. That will put him back in the pool of outfielders that will vie for the All Star Game.