The Los Angeles Dodgers promoted prospect Joc Pederson to the September roster and he was in the starting lineup on Tuesday. Will he get significant playing time in the Dodgers' crowded outfield? On the other hand, the White Sox are opting to keep pitcher Carlos Rodon off the team's roster despite his solid progression.
Joc Pederson's MLB debut was on Monday when Dodgers manager Don Mattingly entered the 22-year-old into the game as a pinch hitter for pitcher Yimi Garcia. Pederson struck out and left two runners on base in his first major league at-bat, but he's expected to get many more opportunities. The Pacific Coast League Rookie of the Year and MVP was starting in center field last night for Los Angeles as Mattingly gave Yasiel Puig the night off.
Puig's numbers have been declining for quite some time now, but this past month has been the worst stretch for the Cuban defector thus far. He's batting .185 since the beginning of last month with a .217 slugging percentage. He has two home runs since July 4 and his 2014 numbers appear to be fairly mediocre for a player of his caliber, as he's hitting just .296 with 13 home runs, 59 RBIs and 73 runs scored. Last year at this time, Puig was batting .351 with a .566 slugging percentage through 80 games.
In his first career start last night, Pederson went 1-for-3 with a walk against Doug Fister and the Washington Nationals. Mattingly referred to Pederson as "probably the only true center fielder we have at this point," according to Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports. As the Dodgers continue their push towards the postseason, will Pederson continue to start in center field if Puig continues to struggle mightily? Probably not, but the 22-year-old is likely to get playing time if he can hit the ball because the Dodgers' offense has been up-and-down in the past month.
In the American League, the White Sox were contemplating calling up a talent prospect of their own, left-handed pitcher Carlos Rodon. Despite jumping from Class-A to Triple-A over the course of six weeks, White Sox general manager Rick Hahn has opted to leave Rodon off the expanded 40-man roster and will have him take part in offseason work.
"It just wasn't the right time in his development to bring him to the big leagues ... and ask him to get big-league hitters out," said Hahn, in this Chicago Tribune article. "We are very pleased with how he finished up his first several weeks as a pro. We fully expect him to come to big-league camp next year and compete for a spot on the 2015 White Sox. That's how far along he is in his development."
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