This story was excerpted from Kennedi Landry’s Rangers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
ARLINGTON -- The boos rained down from the fans at Globe Life Field as Joc Pederson walked to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning of Sunday afternoon’s loss to the Reds.
The Rangers’ designated hitter, who was in the midst of an 0-for-16 stretch to start the year, was in unfortunate familiar territory. Pederson put up career lows in nearly every statistical category in 2025, hitting .181/.285/.328 with nine home runs on top of a franchise-record 0-for-41 slump in April.
His first hit of 2026 was a much-needed one, both for him and the Rangers. Pederson launched a game-tying solo homer in the bottom of the seventh inning against the Reds on Sunday afternoon, snapping his 0-fer and chasing a dealing Chase Burns from his dominant start. Texas still ultimately fell, 2-1, to Cincy.
Pederson looked toward the Rangers dugout, shouting with catharsis before chucking his bat and rounding the bases.
“It felt good, but it sucks that we lost,” Pederson said after the game. “We play to win the game, and we came up short again today.”
Pederson walked later in Sunday’s loss and doubled in Monday’s win over the Mariners, a showing that manager Skip Schumaker believes may be the turning point for Pederson’s early slump.
“Everybody wants to see a ball fall,” Schumaker said pregame on Sunday. “He's a middle-of-the-order bat that we need desperately to come through. He knows that. He's a pro. He's done it before. Hopefully he has a breakout game, either today or this week sometime.”
"We feel like he's getting close. We want him and need him to produce. We're better when he produces. There's no doubt about that. Hopefully, today is the day. Hopefully he's at the point where he is clicking.”
Pederson’s franchise-record slump of a 2025 season came in the first of a two-year contract with the Rangers. He didn’t produce many hits in Spring Training and obviously didn’t get off to a great start so far this season.
It’s obvious why it can be frustrating for a veteran player like Pederson, who has had success at many stops in his career before coming to Texas. But Schumaker has been confident that Pederson’s process will eventually yield more results.
Statcast charts aren’t the be-all and end-all. But Pederson’s average exit velocity (96.1 mph) and hard-hit percentage (75%) are both in the 99th percentile league-wide. His walk rate is in the 70th percentile (12.5). All signs point up there.
On the other hand, the expected numbers don’t work in his favor. His xwOBA (.229) and xSLG (.236) are both in the eighth percentile, while his xBA is in the first (.115). Not ideal.
At the end of the day, results will have to matter eventually. But for now, the Rangers are trusting the balls will fall soon enough.
“Obviously, it's frustrating not getting hits,” Pederson reiterated. “We play this game and get results. But I've been swinging at strikes, been taking balls, been hitting some balls decently, and they just haven't fallen. That's part of it. You stick with that process over the time, it's gonna work out like it has in my career. You want results, but it's not about me, it's about winning ballgames. That's why I'm here.
“I think a lot of people blow things out of proportion. There's still Opening Day paint on the field. You guys can view it as you want, but it's like eight games in the season, so it's a long way to go.”