{"id":316891,"date":"2026-05-31T22:30:28","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T22:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/316891\/"},"modified":"2026-05-31T22:30:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T22:30:28","slug":"rangers-finally-getting-their-moneys-worth-from-oft-criticized-slugger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/316891\/","title":{"rendered":"Rangers Finally Getting their Money\u2019s Worth from Oft-Criticized Slugger"},"content":{"rendered":"

ARLINGTON, Texas \u2014 For more than a year, one particular slugger<\/a> has drawn the ire of Texas Rangers<\/a> fans. Now, there\u2019s no escaping his renaissance. <\/p>\n

Not that Joc Pederson has any real answers when it comes to why he\u2019s finally producing like the slugger the Rangers signed to a two-year deal worth nearly $40 million in 2024. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s who I am,\u201d Pederson said after Friday\u2019s win over Kansas City, a game in which he homered. \u201cI\u2019ve done this for a long time. I just kind of do it. If I knew [why], then I wouldn\u2019t have sucked all last year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Entering Sunday\u2019s game his slash is .243\/.351\/.450 with eight home runs and 18 RBI. He also has an .801 OPS, his best in his two years with Texas<\/a>. He may know be able to fully articulate why he\u2019s hitting so well, but there is a potential answer. <\/p>\n

Why Joc Pederson is Surging<\/p>\n

5 homers in 5 games for @yungjoc650<\/a>. #AllForTX<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/UYa4NHg7xP<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Texas Rangers (@Rangers) May 30, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Pederson has always had the reputation of being a professional hitter. It\u2019s why the Rangers committed to him. He was coming off a .275\/.393\/.515 slash in 2024 with 23 home runs and 64 RBI with Arizona. But last season was awful. He missed three months due to a fractured thumb. When he played, he slashed .181\/.285\/.328 with nine home runs and 26 RBI in 96 games. <\/p>\n

If Texas wanted to get rid of him, it couldn\u2019t. He had a contract option and smartly exercised it. <\/p>\n

He\u2019s showed flashes of his former self earlier this season. At one point in April, he was batting .244. But by May 5 he was hitting .200 again. He was getting on base and drawing walks, two areas the Rangers have put more emphasis on. Rangers manager Skip Schumaker has talked about Pederson\u2019s command of the strike zone. It hasn\u2019t always been there with Texas. <\/p>\n

For the bulk of his time with Texas, he\u2019s been treated as a slugger and batted clean-up or below. But, on May 12 against Arizona, Schumaker tried something. He batted Pederson leadoff. He\u2019s batted there before, but never as a Ranger. <\/p>\n

Entering that game, he was slashing .225\/.339\/.326. Entering Sunday\u2019s game his batting average is nearly 24 points higher, and he\u2019s hit six of his eight home runs. The move has pushed his average to .261 for May. <\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe getting him that extra at-bat, leading off against a right-hander, has also been big,\u201d Schumaker said. \u201cI think back to the beginning of the season, and he was getting two at-bats at a time. It\u2019s tough to get into rhythm in the five or six hole. Him being the leadoff spot provided him that extra at-bat and maybe that\u2019s gotten him more in a rhythm.\u201d<\/p>\n

He hit a home run in Friday\u2019s blowout win of Kansas City, an excuse-me shot that snuck around the right field foul between the bleachers and the wall. Saturday\u2019s home run was much more consequential, part of a three-run seventh inning that won the game. <\/p>\n

The Rangers need the Pederson of 2024 if they hope to climb the standings and take the AL West lead. As May prepares to give way to June, it feels like it\u2019s finally happening \u2014\u00a0not that believes he or Texas have fully turned it around. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019re far away from flipping a switch,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it was a good night. I think we need to continue to build on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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