Will Los Angeles Dodgers OF Joc Pederson Make Opening Day Roster? [RUMORS]

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson started off the 2015 season as if he was going to run away with the NL Rookie of the Year honors. However, he hit just .178/.317/.300 with 21 runs scored, six home runs and 14 RBIs during the second half.

Some of those issues are still glaring in spring training - so what will be Pederson's status for Opening Day?

The 23-year-old has put up a solid stat line (.283/.340/.413) this spring, but he's hit just one home run and has struck out 20 times in 46 at-bats. In 180 at-bats during the second half of 2015, he hit just six homers and struck out 76 times (and 170 for the season).

Strikeouts have been an issue for Pederson for a while now, but they've progressively gotten worse. In 2013, he struck out 114 times in 439 at-bats and, in 2014, he was fanned 149 times in 445 at-bats, but at least his power and run production was there. He added 188 runs scored, 55 home runs and 136 RBIs in those 244 games and his power/run production have disappeared since the beginning of last July.

Although manager Dave Roberts said earlier in spring training that Pederson was the team's center fielder, will that be the case if he doesn't show signs of rediscovering his style of hitting?

"He looks like he has no clue," one evaluator told ESPN's Buster Olney. "He's striking out a ton."

He continued, "The question for me is whether they will send him back to Triple-A to get some confidence and to get things right."

Olney also said on the "Baseball Tonight" podcast that he spoke to scouts Sunday about how "terrible in their eyes" Pederson looks at the plate, as they feel he's "lost" with his balance. They also believe the adjustments he's tried to make with his swing have "simply not clicked."

Just check out this at-bat against Royals' starter Chris Young:

And this after a strikeout:

With so many outfield options, it wouldn't be awfully surprising if Los Angeles opted to start Pederson off at Triple-A to work out some more kinks. Trayce Thompson is also struggling this spring, but the Dodgers also have Enrique Hernandez and Scott Van Slyke as outfield options, even with Andre Ethier's injury.

Hernandez played 34 games in the outfield last year (19 in CF) and Van Slyke mostly played the corners, but he's capable of playing all three spots.

To be clear, there's no indication Pederson will not make the Opening Day roster, and it seems unlikely to be the case at this point, but with this Dodgers front office, it's really not out of the realm of possibility.

Pederson is a promising young talent and, at the beginning of last year, he was seemingly MLB ready, but perhaps teams have been able to expose his flaws after seeing him more often.

Now it might be prudent for the Dodgers to be cautious with his development if they're having any doubts internally.

Tags

Los angeles dodgers, Mlb rumors, Joc pederson, Mlb, Spring training, Opening day, Roster