Joc Pederson told reporters on several occasions in 2026 that his surge in production was about getting healthy and not any significant swing adjustments.
The Texas Rangers designated hitter had a much better season in 2026, as he slashed .235/.329/.487 with 26 home runs and 53 RBI. He became a curious answer to the Rangers’ issues at leadoff hitter. He turned in his most home runs since 2019 but only drove in 53 RBI.
But it was much better than his first year with the Rangers. The only thing that kept him in Texas was the player option that Pederson wisely trigger after his disastrous 2025.
There is a mutual option on his deal in 2027 that the Rangers are unlikely to trigger for financial reasons. Texas president of baseball operations Chris Young didn’t get what he wanted out of Pederson relative to what he signed him for. But, at least Pederson gave him some return on his investment this season.
There are three numbers in his Statcast profile that reveal why.
Joc Pederson’s Big Three Numbers
Looking bat at his Statcast for recent years, Pederson tends to dominate in three categories that tell us a lot about how he gets things done at the plate: average exit velocity, barrel rate and hard-hit rate.
For instance, in 2022 those numbers were bright red in his MLB percentile rankings:
Exit velocity: 93.2 mph (98th percentile)
Barrel%: 15.2% (95th percentile)
Hard-Hit%: 52.1% (98th percentile)
Those are the numbers that, year in and year out, are his best. His ability to hit balls hard and on the barrel of the bat is among the best in baseball.
The Rangers paid him big money before the 2025 season to do just that. There was little reason to believe that Pederson was due for a slump. Those same three numbers in 2024 were down a bit but still well in the red:
Exit velocity: 92.3 mph (93rd percentile)
Barrel%: 13.0% (88th percentile)
Hard-Hit%: 46.2% (79th percentile)
The 2025 season was, of course, a mess. Even before he fractured his wrist in May, he was in the worst slump in several seasons. By season’s end he slashed .181/.285/.328. While he didn’t get enough at-bats to rank in MLB percentiles, he aligned to career norms in two of those categories:
Exit velocity: 91.2 mph
Barrel%: 9.5%
Hard-Hit%: 44.8%
So his exit velocity and his hard-hit percentage remained steady. But his barrel rate dropped precipitously. This could explain why his numbers were well below average even before his injury.
So, with a full season of health in 2026, what happened to those three numbers?
Exit velocity: 92.1 mph (91st percentile)
Barrel%: 11.3% (75th percentile)
Hard-Hit%: 50.9% (90th percentile)
Pederson’s barrel rate came up — not to the level of 2024 — but enough to help bring his season numbers more in line with his career averages.
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