Washington Nationals: 2016 NLDS Tale Of The Tape

Center Field: Joc Pederson vs. Trea Turner

Both of these players are no older than 24 years old. Pederson has more experience than Turner in terms of fielding center field, but both of players look to have good futures with their respective clubs.

Pederson only hit .246 this season, but the 24-year-old had a .352 on-base percentage and hit 25 home runs. While Pederson is going to strike out a lot at the bottom of the order, he is going to find a way to hit a home run or get on base. His 63 walks were second on the Dodgers in 2016 (Grandal had 64).

This season, Pederson went 4-for-17 against the Nats with a home run and three RBi’s. During the postseason last year, Pederson went 0-for-5, but he did draw four walks in the Dodges NLDS series loss to the New York Mets.

Once Turner was the center fielder for the Washington Nationals, he immediately made an impact on this team. In 73 games, Turner had a slash line of .342/.370/.567 with 13 home runs, 40 RBI’s, and had 33 stolen bases in 39 attempts.

While Turner still has some learning to do in center field such as playing balls that get hit off the wall, he has learned quickly to field that position. If you look at the defensive battle at this position, Pederson has one run saved this year (Fangraphs) while Turner is at -2 (Fangraphs).

Turner only got to play in the Dodgers-Nats series at Nats Park in July. He did go 3-for-13, but two of those hits ended up being triples and he had three RBI’s. Turner’s first chance to be on the postseason stage is going to be something fun to watch.

Advantage: Both of these center fielders have bright futures. Pederson has the ability to hit the long ball and draw more walks than Turner. With that being said, Turner has changed the Washington Nationals since he’s been called up and he is key to the running game. To me, Turner gets the edge over Pederson.