Red Sox Mookie Betts Or Dodgers Joc Pederson More Valuable?

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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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