What’s Led to Joc Pederson’s Rangers Turnaround and What Still Must Change

The boo birds came for Joc Pederson on April 5. Twenty days later, the Texas Rangers designated hitter has fans cautiously optimistic.

That Sunday he hit his first home run of the season, nearly a month earlier than he did last season. His 2025 was wrecked by an injury that sidelined him for three months, but he failed to shed the slump that dogged him the first two months, at least in the eyes of fans. His horrible start only emboldened them to boo him that day at Globe Life Field.

Latest, he’s been one of the better hitters on the team. Not the hottest or the most productive. But productive enough to get a respite from those trying to compare his slow start to last season. A look at his numbers show why he’s been able to turn things around and what still needs to improve.

Joc Pederson at a Glance

Skip Schumaker on Joc Pederson's hustle single that kickstarted their three-run inning: "It's so early in these seson, but these are like, I hate to say, 'personality knocks.' My hitting coach back in St. Louis used to say 'we need a personality knock here.'" pic.twitter.com/bzOt8ApFXZ
— Shawn McFarland (@McFarland_Shawn) April 8, 2026

Here are Pederson’s traditional baseball numbers after 26 games:

He has slashed .241/.366/.310 with one home run and four RBI. He has one double. He has struck out 20 times and walked 11 times. Pederson started the season with a 0-for-16 slump before he hit a home run in the first Sunday home game of the season on April 5. He’s batted .280 in April. He’s gotten on base in six of his last eight games.

The splits for Pederson really aren’t worth diving into. He’s taken on at-bat against left-handed pitching. The Rangers signed him to DH against right-handed pitching and, aside from a game at first base to spell Jake Burger, that’s what he’s done.

Pederson has collected a bWAR of 0.1. It’s a far sight better than the -0.3 he had a year ago. His career best was 3.3 in 2016, and he had a 2.8 bWAR in 2024.

Statcast Numbers

Joc Pederson talks his homer, #Rangers’ offense. pic.twitter.com/jlLTJYWzIc
— Jeff Wilson (@JeffWilsonTXR) April 5, 2026

His Statcast data is … interesting. His walk rate of 16.2% is in the 91st percentile in the Majors and would be a career high if he sustained. His hard-hit rate is 55.3% and is in the 94th percentile while his average exit velocity is 93.1 mph and is in the 91st percentile. He’s shown a good eye at the plate and makes consistent hard contact. Those sustained percentiles are the biggest reason he’s been able to turn his numbers around.

Pederson doesn’t chase. At 24.1% he’s in the 78th percentile. But his whiff rate is among the worst in the game at 36.4%, or in the sixth percentile. His strikeout rate is also in the 29th percentile at 26.5%. So, he swings and misses nearly four out of every time but avoid chasing, which means a good amount of his swing and miss is in the strike zone. And that whiff rate is up 11.2% from last year. It would be a career worst if it kept up.

So What Now?

The Rangers must be happy that they’re not dealing with a batter hitting around .200 as the calendar closes in on May. As the Rangers transition to trying to boost their on-base percentage, seeing Pederson at .360 with 11 walks is a nice development.

But the whiff rate and the strikeout rate must improve. It’s the biggest impediment to getting him closer to the 2023 numbers that got him signed by Texas in the first place. Batting him second right now with Wyatt Langford is an outlier. He’ll be back in the fifth spot once Wyatt Langford returns or Corey Seager emerges from the slump, the latter of which already appears to be happening. Texas needs a more productive version of Pederson than last season. So far, the Rangers have it. But there’s still work to be done.

Add us as a preferred source on Google