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Joc Pederson has played for a few MLB teams in his career, cementing himself as a genuine contributor at nearly every stop. One team he will not be playing for, though, is the United States for the upcoming World Baseball Classic.
This is because Pederson is Jewish as he was born from a Jewish mother. His heritage allows him to play for the Israeli team, which he did in 2013 and will do once again in 2023.
Pederson joins the Israeli roster with:
- Richard Bleier
- Adam Kolarek
- Dean Kremer
- Matt Mervis
- Spencer Horwitz
Pederson will be coached by former MLB star Ian Kinsler. Pederson is arguably the biggest star on the team and will be asked to do quite a lot of the heavy lifting if they are to make a run at the title.
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Pederson has represented his Jewish community well and has been a star at every level of baseball.
What to expect from Joc Pederson in 2023?
The San Francisco Giants missed out on a superstar in the 2023 free agency class. They went all-in on Aaron Judge and narrowly missed out on signing him, as it was briefly reported that he had signed in the Bay Area.
They inked Carlos Correa to a 13-year, $350 million deal before injury concerns and a failed physical caused them to back out. Correa ended up back with the Minnesota Twins.
That leaves Joc Pederson to once again be the face and one of the best players on the Giants roster. Last season, Pederson starred offensively.
He put up 2.1 fWAR with a sterling 144 wRC+. This season, the projections expect him to drop way back down to earth.
He's only expected to record about 1.8 fWAR and have a 119 wRC+. Those aren't bad numbers, but it isn't good news for the Giants in 2023.
Last year was Joc Pederson's best offensive year as that 144 wRC+ tops his second-best season by 16 points (he recorded a 128 wRC+ in 2016 with the Los Angeles Dodgers).
However, despite that and no real reason to expect such a drop off, the projections are not being kind to him early on.
