Pederson coming into his own

Last season, the Dodgers brought up rookie Joc Pederson for his proverbial “cup of coffee” at the Show.

He was over matched.

In 28 plate appearances he hit a dismal .143 with no homers and no RBI.

The kid who turned in a 30/30 year in AAA was definitely not ready to make the leap to the major leagues.

Yet, Pederson went into spring training as the heir apparent in centerfield and made Matt Kemp expendable for a trade to San Diego.

Maybe those analytic masterminds knew what they were doing.

Pederson has been on tear the past several weeks and now has nine dingers and 19 RBI and is hitting a respectable .264 while playing a ball-gobbling centerfield.

The Dodgers are up four games in the NL West and they have done it with a surprising show of power (considering the loss of Kemp and Hanley Ramirez) and have showcased a deep bench.

For example, Yasiel Puig and Carl Crawford have been sidelined with nagging injuries and Andre Ethier (.288) and Alex Guerrero (.350) have stepped in. Guerrero has gone yard six times and Ethier four times.

Another case in point is Justin Turner, who has hit four homers and is hitting at a .314 clip coming off the bench.

The bullpen has been strong and Zack Greinke (5-0, 1.56) is off to a hot start. Clayton Kershaw is uncharacteristically struggling at 1-2 with a 3.72 ERA. Brett Anderson (2-1, 3.52) and Carlos Frias (3-0, 2.13) are holding down the fort until Hyun Jin-Ryu comes off the disabled list.

Catcher Yasmani Grandal, acquired from the Padres, is also heating up. Grandal was hitting .179 on May 1 then took Don Mattingly’s advice to stop pressing. In a week, Grandal lifted his batting average to .307, sparked by a two-homerun, eight RBI game on Thursday.