Joc Russell Pederson ( ; born April 21, 1992) is an American professional baseball outfielder and first baseman for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, San Francisco Giants, and Arizona Diamondbacks. He is a two-time World Series champion and a two-time All-Star.
The son of former MLB player Stu Pederson, Joc was drafted by the Dodgers in the 11th round of the 2010 MLB draft out of Palo Alto High School. By virtue of his Jewish heritage, he played for the Israel national baseball team in the 2013 World Baseball Classic and 2023 World Baseball Classic. He was ranked the Dodgers' top prospect by Baseball America after the 2013 season. In 2014, he was named the Pacific Coast League (PCL) Most Valuable Player after hitting 30 home runs and stealing 30 bases, and he made his major league debut that September.
Beginning the 2015 season as the Dodgers' starting center fielder, Pederson was selected to start for the NL All-Star team. He became the first Dodger to hit at least 25 home runs in each of his first two seasons, with 25 in 2016. Pederson hit three home runs in the 2017 World Series, which the Dodgers lost to the Houston Astros. Pederson returned to the World Series in 2018 with the Dodgers, hitting a home run in Game 3 as the Dodgers lost to the Boston Red Sox. In 2019, he hit a career-high 36 home runs. In 2020, he had four hits in 10 at bats in the World Series as the Dodgers won the championship. He signed a one-year deal with the Chicago Cubs, and was traded mid-season to the Atlanta Braves as they won the World Series, making him the ninth player in Major League history to win back-to-back World Series with different teams. Following the 2021–22 lockout, Pederson signed a one-year contract with his hometown San Francisco Giants, and made his second career All-Star Game.
Early life Pederson was born in Palo Alto, California, and is the son of Shelly () and Stu Pederson. Stu played in eight games for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1985, and spent 12 years in Minor League Baseball. Joc's mother was an athletic trainer in college. He is Jewish by birth (his mother is Jewish), and has played for the Israel national baseball team.Steve Wulf (November 9, 2017). "Alex Bregman, Joc Pederson headline best week ever in Jewish baseball," ESPN. Pederson grew up a San Francisco Giants fan.
Joc's older brother, Tyger, played baseball for the University of the Pacific, and then played second base in the Dodgers minor league system. Joc's eldest brother, Champ, has Down syndrome and sometimes stays with him during the season. His younger sister, Jacey, played soccer as a forward for the United States national under-17 team and played college soccer for the UCLA Bruins. Through 2022, Pederson was second among Jewish baseball players in career home run frequency (behind Hank Greenberg), seventh in career home runs (behind Al Rosen), and eighth in career slugging percentage (behind Ron Blomberg).
Pederson attended Palo Alto High School. In his senior year, Pederson batted .466 with a .577 on-base percentage (OBP) and an .852 slugging percentage, with 20 stolen bases in 22 attempts, playing center field and leading off for the school's baseball team. He also played for the school's football team, leading it with 30 receptions in his senior year, for 650 yards and 9 touchdowns. Pederson was the team's number one wide receiver, racking up more yards and touchdowns than his teammate, future NFL two-time All Pro First Team wide receiver Davante Adams, who was a Junior at the time. Pederson graduated in 2010.
Professional career Draft and minor leagues In the 11th round of the 2010 MLB draft, Pederson was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He had committed to play at the University of Southern California, where his father played college baseball, but Joc chose instead to sign with the Dodgers. He was given a $600,000 signing bonus to sign with the Dodgers. The bonus was the second-highest given to any draft pick the Dodgers signed that year, and it was four times the amount typically given to players drafted after the fifth round. Pederson had wanted more money, but he chose to accept their offer because he realized "My dream — my big dream — was to become a star in the big leagues."
In 2011, as the youngest player with the Ogden Raptors of the Pioneer League, Pederson had a .353 batting average/.429 OBP/.568 slugging percentage with 11 homers, leading the league with 64 runs batted in (RBI), a .997 on-base plus slugging (OPS) percentage, and nine outfield assists. He finished second with 24 stolen bases, second in on-base percentage, third with 54 runs, and third with 36 walks while playing in 68 games. Pederson was selected as both a Pioneer League and Rookie League All-Star, a Baseball America Rookie All Star, and a Topps Short-Season/Rookie League All Star. Baseball America rated him the Best Hitter for Average in the Dodgers system for the 2011 season.
Pederson was promoted to the High–A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the California League in 2012, at age 20. For the Quakes, he batted .313./.396/.526 with 96 runs (4th in the league), 48 extra base hits, and 26 stolen bases. The Dodgers selected Pederson as their 2012 "Minor League Player of the Year," and MILB.com named him a Dodgers organization All Star. Baseball America rated him the player with the best strike zone discipline in the Dodgers system. Following the season, the Dodgers assigned him to the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League, where he was an AFL Rising Star in 2012. He was ranked the Dodgers' # 4 prospect by Baseball America (and # 3 prospect by MILB.com) after the 2012 season.
In 2013, Pederson received a promotion to the Double–A Chattanooga Lookouts in the Southern League, starting the season as the youngest member of the team and the second-youngest position player in the league. Pederson was selected to play for the United States at the All-Star Futures Game, and was also selected to play in the Southern League All-Star Game. He hit .278 while leading the league with a .497 slugging percentage. Pederson also finished second with 22 home runs and 81 runs scored; third with 31 stolen bases, a .381 on-base percentage, and an .878 OPS; and fifth in walks. He had 58 RBI and 10 outfield assists in 123 games during the season, usually batting in the leadoff spot. Pederson earned postseason All-Star honors, was a Topps Double-A All Star, and was a Baseball America Minor League All Star. He then played winter ball for the Cardenales de Lara in the Venezuelan Winter League, where he had a .439 on-base percentage. He was ranked the Dodgers' # 1 prospect by Baseball America after the 2013 season.
In February 2014, Pederson was named the 34th-best prospect in baseball by Baseball America. The Dodgers invited him to spring training that year. Pederson was then assigned to the Triple–A Albuquerque Isotopes to begin the 2014 season. He was named minor league Prospect of the Month by MLBPipeline.com in April 2014 after batting .398 (second-best in the league)/.504/.663 with 6 home runs and 9 steals. He was the fifth-youngest position player in the Pacific Coast League, and almost five years younger than the league average. Ben Badler of Baseball America opined, "Pederson is the Dodgers' No. 1 prospect, No. 34 in baseball, and I still think he's underrated."
Pederson was named to the mid-season Pacific Coast League All-Star team after batting .319/.437 (leading the PCL)/.568 (3rd) with a 1.005 OPS (leading the PCL), 17 home runs (tied for sixth in the minor leagues), 57 walks (tied for first in the PCL), 58 runs scored (2nd in the PCL), and 20 stolen bases (3rd in the PCL), in 74 games. On August 23, in his 115th game of the season Pederson became the first player in the PCL in 80 years (since Frank Demaree in 1934, in 186 games), and the fourth all-time, to hit 30 homers and steal 30 bases in the same season. The only other Pacific Coast League hitters to do it were Lefty O'Doul (1927, in 189 games) and Hall of Famer Tony Lazzeri (1925, in 197 games). He was also only the second Dodger minor leaguer to ever do it, joining Chin-Feng Chen (1999; 31/31 for the Single–A Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino).
Pederson finished his minor league season hitting .303/.435 (leading the league)/.582 (3rd in the league). He led the PCL with 106 runs scored, 33 home runs, 100 walks, and a 1.017 OPS while stealing 30 bases (3rd in the league). Pederson set Isotopes single-season records for walks and runs scored. He batted .306/.442/.573 against righties and .299/.422/.598 against lefties, while hitting .366 with runners on base. After the season he received the 2014 PCL Most Valuable Player Award, a selection to the postseason All-PCL team, and the PCL Rookie of the Year Award. Baseball America named him their Triple–A Player of the Year, a Triple–A All-Star, and a member of their 2014 Minor League All-Star team. Pederson was named the organization's top player for the second time, though he was a co-winner with shortstop Corey Seager this year.
Los Angeles Dodgers (2014–2020) 2014 With major league rosters expanding to 40 players for September, Pederson was added to the Dodgers' 40-man roster and called up to the Majors for the first time on September 1, 2014. Manager Don Mattingly said "The people in our organization that have seen him the most say he's the best center fielder in our organization."
That night against the Washington Nationals, with the Dodgers trailing 6–4 with two outs and two runners on base, Pederson pinch-hit for pitcher Yimi García. He took Rafael Soriano to a full count, but was called out on strikes to end the game. He started in center field the following day, and picked up his first Major League hit on a single off of Doug Fister in the second inning. In 18 games, he had four hits in 28 at bats.
2015
Baseball America named Pederson the #8 prospect in 2015, and MLB.com ranked him the 13th-best prospect in baseball going into the 2015 season. The offseason trade of Matt Kemp created an opening in center field, and Pederson was named the Opening Day starting center fielder, beating out the veteran Andre Ethier for the position.
He hit his first MLB home run on April 12 off of A. J. Schugel of the Arizona Diamondbacks in a 7–4 victory. On May 1, he hit his first major league grand slam off of Rubby De La Rosa of the Diamondbacks, a 446-foot blow. Pederson homered in both games of a day-night doubleheader on June 2; his second homer travelled an estimated 480 feet. On June 3, he homered in his fifth consecutive game, becoming only the fifth Dodgers to ever do so.
Pederson was selected to the National League squad in the 2015 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the first Dodgers rookie to be selected as an All Star since Hideo Nomo in 1995, He became the first Dodgers rookie position player to ever start in an All-Star game. He was also selected to participate in the 2015 Home Run Derby. The #4 seed, Pederson made it all the way to the final round, losing 15–14 to Todd Frazier.
However, Pederson's performance tailed off in June and July. He batted .230 with 20 home runs before the All-Star Game, but he would only hit six in the second half of the season, batting .178 for the remainder of the season. On August 23, Pederson lost his starting center fielder job due to his extended slump.