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Red Sox Mookie Betts Or Dodgers Joc Pederson More Valuable?

By Brandon Nickel |
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Jul 11, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox center fielder

Mookie Betts

(50) hits a triple against the New York Yankees during the seventh inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

Imagine if you had the choice of picking either Boston Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts or Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson to grace your starting lineup. You might need a towel to wipe up the drool on the floor as your gaping mouth salivates with excitement over the possibilities that one of these men would give to the ball club.

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Dave Cameron of FanGraphs.com published a list of the top 50 MLB players in terms of trade value, with Pederson taking 12th place and Betts earning 11th place, but also said that “while I might prefer Mookie, there’s no shame in taking Joc’s side either. When we get to pick between young center fielders that are this good, the winners are the people who get to watch both whenever they want.”

Where’s the fun in that?

While Cameron’s words are very true, let us examine these two young men further to see if we agree with Cameron’s assessment or that there is a clear winner over the other:

Jul 13, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; National League outfielder Joc Pederson (31) of the Los Angeles Dodgers at bat during the 2015 Home Run Derby the day before the MLB All Star Game at Great American Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

Option #1 – Joc Pederson

Bio:

  • Born April 21, 1992 (23 years old) in Palo Alto, California
  • Plays outfield
  • Bats left; throws left
  • 6’1″, 215 lbs.
  • Drafted by the Dodgers in the 11th round in 2010 out of high school
  • Prospect Ranking Pre-2015: Baseball America – #8, MLB.com – #13, BaseballProspectus.com – #18

Finances:

  • Controlled through 2020, with no guaranteed dollars
  • Arbitration eligible in 2018
  • Free agent in 2021
  • 2015 pay: one year / $510 thousand

Stats:

  • Hit a slash line of .230/.364/.487 in 300 at-bats & 366 plate appearances
  • Played 89 games for the Dodgers before the All-Star Break
  • Has 15 doubles, 1 triple, 20 home runs, 40 RBIs
  • Stolen 2 bases; caught stealing 5 times
  • Leads the National League with 107 strikeouts; 4th place in MLB
  • Fielding % – .989 in center field, with 2 errors
  • Defensive runs saved above average – 1 run

Intangibles:

  • The kid’s a beast at the plate, without question. At the 2015 Home Run Derby, his power was on display for all to see. Pederson drove the ball with relative ease in the first round, knocking out big-name veterans like Manny Machado and Albert Pujols. He eventually lost to Todd Frazier, but only lost by one homer as Pederson hit 14 long balls over the fences. His power was to all fields, spreading the wealth around. Teams always love power and, as Cameron states, “there is certainly an argument for Pederson, especially given the premium teams have historically paid for power; it is the commodity most often overpaid for in free agency.”
  • Pederson’s marketability is also as big as ever after the Home Run Derby. Forget the aforementioned birth in the final for a minute. Just think: a rookie just took out Pujols. This rookie did it with a trendy haircut and fresh face for the baseball-loving public and the non-baseball fanatics, alike. How many men and women would have seen the Derby who are not big fans of baseball but had a casual interest in checking out the All-Star festivities? All of those people saw Pederson’s look, the tender moments with his brother, and his strong arms belting out long balls. Those people may now become Pederson fans and, therefore, become fans of whatever team he plays for, which the Dodgers must be very happy about right now. If you don’t believe that, check this tweet from Dodgers owner Ervin ‘Magic’ Johnson:
  • Pederson’s strikeouts are an issue in the future. How many times did a game’s outcome change because of his eagerness to make an impact? That power is great as long as he hits the ball. Having a .230 batting average likely means that he isn’t doing that as often as the Dodgers would like.

Jul 10, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox center fielder Mookie Betts (50) rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the fifth inning against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Option #2 – Mookie Betts

Bio:

  • Born October 7, 1992 (22 years old) in Nashville, Tennessee
  • Plays outfield and second base
  • Bats right; throws right
  • 5’9″, 180 lbs.
  • Drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 5th round in 2011
  • Exceeded rookie status in 2014
  • Prospect Ranking Pre-2014: Baseball America – #75, MLB.com – #62

Finances:

  • Controlled through 2020, with no guaranteed dollars
  • Arbitration eligible in 2018
  • Free agent in 2021
  • 2015 pay: one year / $515 thousand

Stats:

  • Hit a slash line of .277/.328/.464 in 343 at-bats and 378 plate appearances before the All-Star Break
  • Has 22 doubles, 6 triples, 10 home runs, and 43 RBIs
  • Stolen 13 bases; caught stealing 4 times
  • Played 52 games in 2014 and, so far, 86 games in 2015 for the Red Sox
  • Fielding % – .995 in center field, with 1 error
  • Defensive runs saved above average – 11 runs

Intangibles:

  • It’s not just how many runs Betts cashes in, it’s when. Betts means so much to his team because of his well-documented moments at the plate where he comes through late to win the game or drive in the insurance run with his bat.
  • His defense is half-man-half amazing in center field, making highlight-reel catches almost every game. His defense is replayed over and over on YouTube and other social media platforms, so that Betts is becoming a household name, especially with young people. His infectious smile and swagger gives him that ‘it-factor’ that teams wished their center fielders possessed.
  • As Cameron states, “[Betts] seems to have room for growth above and beyond what he already is. He consistently ran double-digit walk rates in the minors, but he’s become much more aggressive this year in response to big league pitchers throwing him a lot of strikes. As it becomes clear to opponents that feeding him pitches in the zone isn’t going to work, he should be able to get his walk rate up, and prime-Mookie may very well run even BB/K rates while spraying line drives all over the field.” You can’t teach ruthless aggression used at the proper time. It has to come naturally. Betts seems to be learning very quickly just by playing every day.

Jul 1, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Boston Red Sox center fielder Mookie Betts (50) is greeted at the dugout by teammates after hitting a solo home run against the Toronto Blue Jays in the eighth inning at Rogers Centre.The Jays won 11-2. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Final Thoughts

Try tearing away Pederson from the Dodgers, a team in his home state where he plays in front of his home crowd. Try ripping Betts away from Boston’s grasp as the Red Sox continue to depend on him to win ballgames on offense. A trade for one of these two players will cost either an ace pitcher or a juggernaut of an RBI hitter who is very much in his prime.

The objective of this piece was to find out who is the best of the two men in question. Cameron is correct in saying that there is little difference between the two young outfielders. They both play center field with great success. They both help their team win games offensively, in their own ways.

The true answer lies within the last phrase: their own ways. Pederson would attract much attention, if he was put on the trade market, because of his power. That’s where his value begins and ends, compared to Betts.

Betts is much more valuable to his team defensively, as seen in the amount of outs that he records and the range that he covers, compared to Pederson. Offensively, while Pederson is on the bench trying to figure out why he struck out once again, Betts is getting on base with shorter hits and walks, pressuring the opposing pitchers by stealing more and more bases. Betts’ power is almost equal to that of Pederson, as well. Although his home run total is half of his counterpart’s, Betts has more RBIs than Pederson. Part of that is due to the fact that Betts hits .328 with runners in scoring position, while Pederson only hits .241. Both men hit leadoff often for their respective clubs, so neither man had an advantage over the other in opportunities to drive in RBIs, but Betts did the job that much better.

Both men have incredible talents and, while Pederson was selected to be an All-Star, both men have had All-Star-caliber seasons, so far. Both men have that ‘it-factor’. Yet, RBIs spell victories. RBIs in late innings do the job directly. If you had to give the edge to who is more valuable to a lineup, you would have to put your money on Betts.

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