Dodgers rookie center fielder Joc Pederson homered in his fifth straight game Wednesday night during a 7–6 loss at Colorado. With the home run—already his 17th of the season—Pederson became just the fourth Dodger in modern history to go yard in five straight games.
Currently the 23-year-old is second in the NL in home runs, fourth in slugging (.606), third in walks (35), and fifth in OPS (.998). His current power rate puts him on pace for an absurd 52 long balls—which would make him the first Dodger ever to reach the 50-home-run barrier in the franchise’s 130-year history.
Defensively, he covers a lot of ground in center for the NL West-leading Dodgers who are in pursuit of their third straight division crown.
It’s a welcome sight for Los Angeles and their new president of baseball operations, Andrew Friedman, who traded away the popular Matt Kemp, from a crowded outfield situation, in order to make room for Pederson—the team’s 11th-round selection in the 2010 draft.
