Dustin Pedroia, no. 15

I've been trying to decide which nickname to call Pedroia next season. I tend to think he's outgrown his reputation as a scrappy, little dude; he's proven himself. I'm trying to decide which is (well, I was going to say more clever but I think that less annoying would be a better descriptor.) The two I've come up with are Roy Dusty (because Dusty is a decidedly un-regal name) and Pedroya (like I've spelled his name incorrectly.)







Birth Date: August 17, 1983 in Woodland, CA

Height/Weight: (officially) 5'9", 180 lbs.

College: Arizona State University

Contract: $390,000



The 2007 season was quite a year for Dustin Pedroia. He had a rough start to his rookie season but finished up with a World Series championship and Rookie of the Year honors. His batting average for the 2007 season was .317. He had 165 hits; 39 of them were doubles, 1 was a triple, and 8 were home runs. He stole 7 bases. He bunted 5 times. He had 2 sacrifice flies. He was intentionally walked once and hit by a pitch 7 times. He walked 47 times (9%) and he struck out 42 times (8%). All of which contributed to an On Base Percentage of .380. His Slugging Average was a very impressive .422. His On-base Plus Slugging was .822.



Defensively, he had 259 put outs and 360 assists. He was charged with 6 errors. He turned 78 double plays (70 more than he grounded into.) His Fielding Percentage was .990 (which was above the league average of .985). His Range Factor, however, was below the league average; he had .488 while the league average was 4.98.



He has average power for a middle infielder and excellent plate discipline. He's extremely confident. He plays very good defense (2003 Collegiate Defensive Player of the Year.)