Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder/designated hitter Joc Pederson and shortstop Geraldo Perdomo are not in the starting lineup for Monday's series opener against the hosting Kansas City Royals with left-hander Cole Ragans toeing the rubber. Randal Grichuk is serving as the DH for Arizona and will hit fifth, while Kevin Newman is at the 6 and batting eighth versus Ragans. Pederson has only 21 plate appearances against lefties in 2024 and is hitting .177 (3-for-17) against them with one of his 13 homers on the year, so it's no surprise he's on the bench to kick off the week. Grichuk and Newman have both faced Ragans just once in their career and have come away hitless. Grichuk hasn't displayed much power in 155 at-bats in Arizona in 2024, but he's hitting an impressive .284, including a .300/.363/.420 slash line against southpaws with a homer and 17 RBI in 100 at-bats.
Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder/designated hitter Joc Pederson will start on the bench for the start of the second half of the season on Friday at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs and left-hander Justin Steele. Veteran outfielder Randal Grichuk will serve as Arizona's DH and will hit fifth against Steele in the series opener. Pederson is having a fine season in his first year in the desert, but he's hitting just .125 (2-for-16) with one of his 13 home runs on the season against left-handed pitching, so he'll give way to Grichuk in this one. Grichuk is batting a very respectable .279 (41-for-147) with limited playing time for the Snakes in 2024 but has just three home runs and 21 RBI, making him a low-upside DFS play for Friday's slate. He's gone 28-for-95 (.295) with one of his three homers against southpaws this season.
Arizona Diamondbacks designated hitter Joc Pederson went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run in Friday's 10-8 loss to the Padres. After hitting just .235 in June, Pederson is now 5-for-13 (.385) to start July, going deep in back-to-back games and in three of the last four contests. Despite playing only against right-handed pitching, the veteran has made the most of his opportunities and is having one of his finest seasons as a pro. The 32-year-old has a .289-13-38-34-4 line with a .395 wOBA and 158 wRC+.
Arizona Diamondbacks DH Joc Pederson helped power his team to a 5-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday. Pederson went 2-for-4 with a solo homer and a walk in the win. The veteran slugger's third-inning shot traveled 433 feet and had an exit velocity of 104.6 MPH. Pederson is now hitting .302 with 10 homers, 28 runs, 34 RBI, and four steals across 179 at-bats this season. The blast on Friday night gives Pederson double-digit homers in four straight seasons. He remains a solid source of fantasy numbers across the board in mixed leagues moving forward.
Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Joc Pederson is not in Saturday's lineup as they are scheduled to face southpaw Sean Manaea. The 32-year-old has yet to make a start against a left-handed pitcher this season, and Saturday will continue this pattern. As a result, Ketal Marte will shift to the designated hitter spot and bat leadoff, which opens up second base for Blaze Alexander, who will bat in the eight-hole. Pederson has looked quite comfortable with his new club through the early part of the season with a .308/.406/.546 line. Pederson should be expected to return to the starting lineup on Sunday as the Mets will send out right-hander Tylor Megill. Ketel Marte is always worth consideration in DFS, and Blaze Alexander could be a nice value option as Sean Manaea enters Saturday with a 3.16 ERA and 1.29 WHIP.
Arizona Diamondbacks designated hitter Joc Pederson smacked a late-inning, three-run homer, adding an RBI single on a 2-for-4 night as the Diamondbacks came up short in a 10-9 slugfest against the New York Mets. The home run was Pederson's seventh on the season to go along with his impressive .308 batting average. Pederson is having a nice season as he tours the National League West with his third team. Due to his career .239 batting average, you can expect some regression in the batting average moving forward, but it's nice to see Pederson performing well in his new home. He's only accumulated six at-bats against left-handed pitching on the season because of his strict strong-side platoon, but that plus hitting in the middle of a solid Diamondbacks lineup is reason enough for him to be rostered in most fantasy formats.
Joc Pederson Back In Lineup With Right-Hander On Mound
Arizona Diamondbacks designated hitter Joc Pederson is back in Arizona's lineup on Saturday after being scratched yesterday. Pederson has generally been used as a platoon hitter and yesterday's late decision was likely due to the fact the Tigers were facing left-hander Tarik Skubal. With right-hander Jack Flaherty on the mound the matchup for Pederson is certainly more favorable. Fantasy managers will want to ensure the lefty slugger is in their lineup as Pederson has posted a .530 wOBA in 14 AB against Flaherty in his career. DFS managers should look to find a way to fit Pederson into their lineups as well.
Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Joc Pederson (rest) has been scratched from the starting lineup ahead of Friday's game against the Detroit Tigers. Manager Torey Lovullo said that Pederson is fine and that he just decided he would rather use him off the bench. The assumption is that the D-Backs decided to play matchups with left-handed Tarik Skubal on the mound for Detroit. Jake McCarthy will start in his place in right field while Randal Grichuk will function as the team's designated hitter on Friday. Fantasy managers should adjust their lineups accordingly.
Despite a strong performance from Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Arizona Diamondbacks designated hitter Joc Pederson collected three of the five hits that the righty allowed in the outing, with Pederson ending the game 3-for-4. Although all three hits were singles and the D-backs were unable to scratch across even one run in the contest, Pederson was able to raise his batting average to .317 while increasing his OBP to .451, which is second-best in baseball to only NL MVP front-runner Mookie Betts. The inflated OBP is also due in part to his robust 15.7% BB% on the season. The 32-year-old has shown a little pop too, with six doubles and two home runs in 2024.
Joc Pederson, Jake McCarthy Sitting Against Southpaw
Arizona Diamondbacks designated hitter Joc Pederson and outfielder Jake McCarthy are both out of the lineup on Monday against left-hander James Paxton and the Los Angeles Dodgers. As a result, rookie infielder Blaze Alexander is the DH and is batting leadoff, while outfielder Randal Grichuk is in right field and hitting sixth in the batting order. Pederson is hitting a nice .296 (16-for-54) to begin his first season with the D-backs, but he's been afforded just three at-bats against left-handers. Alexander has really impressed so far in his first season in the big leagues and will be a pretty attractive DFS option in the leadoff spot on Monday. Grichuk will be more of a deep sleeper in daily lineups, but he does have a homer and two RBI while hitting .267 against Paxton in 15 career at-bats.
