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. 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. 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 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 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. In 151 games in 2015, he hit .210/.346/.417 with 26 homers (the second-most by a Dodger rookie in franchise history, behind
Mike Piazza's 35 in 1993), 67 runs, 54 RBIs, and 92 walks (fifth in the NL). His batting average was the lowest among qualified hitters. He also tied Matt Kemp for the Dodgers franchise strikeout record, with 170 (3rd in the National League). At the conclusion of the season, he was selected to
Baseball America's All-Rookie team. The Dodgers won the
NL West title, and Pederson reached the playoffs for the first time as Los Angeles faced the
New York Mets in the
2015 NL Division Series (NLDS). He had starts in Games 1 and 5 of the series, but was hitless as the Dodgers fell to the Mets in five games. He hit solo home runs against
Jered Weaver and
A. J. Achter on May 17 in a 5–1 victory over the
Los Angeles Angels. Against the Diamondbacks on June 14, he hit two solo home runs against
Archie Bradley in a 7–4 victory. On June 28, Pederson left a game against the
Milwaukee Brewers after spraining his right
AC joint while making a diving catch against the outfield wall; he was placed on the DL three days later, but he returned on July 19. On July 29, he hit a two-run home run against
Daniel Hudson and had four RBIs in a 9–7 victory over the Diamondbacks. He hit solo home runs against
Tom Koehler and
Brian Ellington on September 10 in a 5–0 victory over the
Miami Marlins. Pederson appeared in 137 games in 2016, batting 246/.352/.495 with 25 home runs, 25 doubles, and 68 RBIs. His 25 home runs averaged a distance of 412.1 feet (the 7th-longest average distance of any MLB hitter), and he saw 4.18 pitches-per-plate-appearance (10th-most in the NL). His average exit velocity on a batted ball of 92.3 mph was in the top 5% of all major leaguers. In the third inning of Game 4 of the
2016 NLDS against the Nationals, Pederson had a painful RBI, driving in a run when
Joe Ross hit him with a pitch with the bases loaded. Pederson later had an RBI double in the fifth inning against
Reynaldo López, and the Dodgers won 6–5. His home run against
Max Scherzer in the seventh inning of Game 5 forced Scherzer from the game and opened the scoring for the Dodgers, who won 4–3 to advance to the
NL Championship Series (NLCS) against the
Chicago Cubs. In Game 3 of the NLCS, he had an RBI single against
Mike Montgomery and scored a run as the Dodgers beat the Cubs 6–0. He had four hits in 21 at bats in the series, scoring three runs, but the Dodgers fell to the Cubs in six games. On May 23, in a 2–1 win over the
St. Louis Cardinals, Pederson collided with teammate
Yasiel Puig in the outfield, and went on the 7-day
concussion disabled list. He would not return until June 13, when González went on the disabled list. Pederson's batting average fell from .248 on July 28 to .215 on August 18 after he batted .049 in 15 games. On August 19, Pederson was sent to Triple-A after the Dodgers acquired
Curtis Granderson from the
New York Mets. “That was [my] first time being demoted," Pederson reflected. "But the [PCL] showed me a lot, the stuff I needed to work on." Pederson felt like he had made helpful adjustments, but he only batted .182 after getting recalled in September. Pederson was used mainly off the bench in the series, though he did get a start in Game 3; the Dodgers won the series in five games. After not playing in Game 1, Pederson started five of the next six World Series games. He hit a fifth-inning home run against
Justin Verlander in Game 2, the first hit of the game for the Dodgers, though they would go on to lose 7–6. In Game 4, with the Dodgers leading 3–1 in the top of the ninth, Pederson hit a three-run home run against
Joe Musgrove, adding insurance as the Dodgers won 6–2. "That was a huge hit by Joc," manager
Dave Roberts told reporters after the game. He hit another home run against Musgrove in Game 6, as the Dodgers won 3–1. However, the Dodgers would fall to the Astros in seven games.
2018 Before the 2018 season, Pederson signed a one-year, $2.6 million contract with the Dodgers, avoiding
salary arbitration. He spent much of the season in a platoon role in
left field with the right-handed Kemp, whom the Dodgers had reacquired. He had two-home-run games within a week of each other, in Dodger victories on June 2 and 8. For the season, in 59 games batting as the leadoff hitter, he hit .309/.356/.818. In Game One of the
2018 NLDS, Pederson hit a first pitch leadoff home run against
Mike Foltynewicz of the Braves in a 6–0 victory. He had hits in each of the other games of the series, which the Dodgers won in four games. That was Los Angeles's only victory of the series, as they fell to the Red Sox in five games. He platooned in left field with
Chris Taylor, though Pederson would finish the year with a career-high 450 at bats. On May 14, Pederson hit his 100th career home run against
San Diego Padres starting pitcher
Chris Paddack. From May 19 through June 1, Pederson recorded 16 hits in 33 at bats, raising his batting average from .218 to .274, though it would fall back to .239 at the All-Star Break. From September 1 to 4, he became the second player in National League history (after
Larry Walker) to have an extra-base hit in six consecutive at bats. He played in 149 games, hitting .249/.339/.538 with 36 home runs and 74 RBIs in 450 at bats, and was 5th in the NL and tied for 5th of all Dodgers ever with a home run every 12.5 at bats. The Dodgers won that game 6–0.
2020 Pederson was awarded a $7.5 million salary for the 2020 season after losing an arbitration hearing with the Dodgers. In early 2020, Pederson and
Ross Stripling were nearly traded to the
Los Angeles Angels in exchange for
Luis Rengifo, but the trade fell through. The MLB season did not start until July 24 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the season lasted only 60 games; Pederson appeared in 43 of them. Though still used primarily as a corner outfielder, he began getting a few starts at
designated hitter as the NL implemented the position for the first time that season. In 2020, Pederson batted .190/.285/.397 with 21 runs, seven home runs, and 16 RBIs in 121 at bats. His average exit velocity on batted balls of 93.0 mph was in the top 4% of all major leaguers. On Pederson's playoff success, Dodgers starting pitcher
Alex Wood quipped, "They call it 'Joctober' for a reason." Pederson had seven hits in 18 at bats in that series.
Max Muncy noted "The guy performs on the huge stage. This is just what he does." In the World Series, Pederson had four hits in 10 at bats as the Dodgers won the championship. After the World Series, he became a
free agent. He was motivated to sign with the Cubs because he hoped for more playing time than he had received with the Dodgers. Due to his usual #31 being retired by the Cubs for both
Greg Maddux and
Fergie Jenkins, Pederson chose to sport the new number of #24 for his tenure with the team as he began the season starting in left field daily. He was placed on the injured list on April 22, and was struggling offensively at the time, hitting .137 with 1 HR, 4 RBIs, and 20 strikeouts. Pederson returned on May 3, and was inserted into the
leadoff spot in the lineup, as regular leadoff hitter
Ian Happ had ended up on the injured list after an outfield collision. Of his final 57 games with the Cubs, 42 were starts from the leadoff position, and he raised his batting average as high as .269. All told, Pederson played in 73 games for the Cubs, hitting .230/.300/.418 with 11 home runs and 39 RBIs in 256 at bats. He played 66 games in left field, 3 in
right field, 2 in center field, and one at
first base. Atlanta had just lost superstar
Ronald Acuña Jr. to a long-term
ACL injury, and Pederson stepped into Acuña Jr.'s positions of right field and leadoff hitter. With #31 again being retired by the Braves for Greg Maddux and #24 having been taken already by new teammate
William Contreras, Pederson chose to honor two former teammates,
Clayton Kershaw and
Jason Heyward from Los Angeles and Chicago respectively, by wearing #22 for his Braves tenure. On July 17, Pederson recorded his first hit as a Brave, a two-run home run in the fourth inning, against
Tampa Bay Rays' rookie
Josh Fleming. In the 2021 regular season, playing for the Braves, Pederson batted .249/.325/.428 with 7 home runs and 22 RBIs in 173 at bats. He played 36 games in right field and 24 games in center field. With two outs and runners in scoring position, he batted .327/.411/.490. Following the Braves' World Series victory, Pederson's pearl necklace was sent to the
National Baseball Hall of Fame. In the post-season, Pederson hit two
pinch hit home runs as Atlanta won the
2021 National League Division Series against the Brewers, despite starting only once in four games, making him the third player in history with two in a single postseason series. Then in Game 2 of the
2021 National League Championship Series, Pederson hit a two-run home run against three-time Cy Young Award winner
Max Scherzer, as the Braves came from behind to beat the Dodgers 5–4. His home run traveled (the longest home run of the 2021 postseason at the time), and had an exit velocity of (the third-hardest-hit home run Scherzer had surrendered since
Statcast began tracking data in 2015). Through 2021, he had a .501 career slugging percentage against right-handed pitching, and since his first full season in 2015, he ranked 5th among NL outfielders in home runs (130), and 7th in walks (295). He had played 412 games in center field, 229 games in left field, 54 games in right field, and 20 games at first base. On April 24, 2022, Pederson hit a 441-foot leadoff home run, the longest Giants leadoff home run since Statcast's inception in 2015, and his 24th career leadoff home run, in his 18th career multi-homer game, against Nationals right-hander
Joan Adon. On May 24, Pederson hit three home runs and eight RBIs as he led the Giants to a 13–12 win over the New York Mets. Pederson became the second Giant to hit three home runs in a game at
Oracle Park, joining
Pablo Sandoval. His eight RBIs matched the San Francisco-era Giants record also held by
Willie Mays,
Orlando Cepeda, and
Brandon Crawford. He also became only the second major league player in the last century, joining
Joe DiMaggio, to hit three home runs, have 8 RBIs, and have game-tying RBIs in both the eighth and ninth innings in one game. Pederson became the second player to hit a home run into
McCovey Cove as both a Giants player and a visiting player, joining
Ryan Klesko. Pederson started in the outfield for the
National League in his return to
Dodger Stadium for the
2022 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, his second career All-Star selection and start. In 2022, Pederson batted .274/.353/.521 in 380 at bats, with 23 home runs and 70 RBIs. He was in the top 2% of all batters in both average exit velocity (93.1 mph; 5th-best in the majors) and percentage of balls that were hard hit (51.9%; 7th-best). He was also in the top 5% of all batters in barrel percentage, and had an .894 OPS against right-handed pitchers, 10th-best among all left-handed hitters who had at least 250 plate appearances. He batted .388 with runners in scoring position, second-best figure in the majors behind
Freddie Freeman (.391). In 2023, Pederson batted .235/.348/.416 in 358 at bats with 59 runs, 15 home runs, 51 RBIs, and 57 walks, while playing 79 games at DH, 32 in left field, six in right field, and two at first base.
Arizona Diamondbacks (2024) On January 30, 2024, Pederson signed a one-year, $12.5 million deal with the
Arizona Diamondbacks that included a mutual option for 2025. In 2024 Pederson batted .275/.393(leading the NL of all batters with 400 or more plate appearances)/.515(6th) in 367 at bats with 62 runs, 23 home runs, 64 RBIs, 55 walks, and 18 hit by pitch (leading the NL), while hitting a home run in every 16.0 at bats (10th in the league) and stealing a career-high seven bases. Pederson declined his share of the mutual 2025 option after the season, making him a free agent.
Texas Rangers (2025–present) On December 30, 2024, Pederson signed a two-year, $37 million contract with the
Texas Rangers. Pederson struggled to begin the 2025 season, as he endured a career-worst 0-for-41 slump that spanned from April 2 to April 23, with the hitless stretch setting a new franchise record for the Rangers. On May 24, Pederson suffered a broken right hand after getting hit by a pitch, and was subsequently placed on the 10-day injured list. He made his return from the injury on July 27, after missing 52 games. He hit .181 with nine home runs and 26 RBI in 96 games in the 2025 season. On November 6, Pederson exercised his $18.5 million player option for the 2026 season. ==International career==