It’s mostly been hard grounders and routine flies from Pederson thus far, but given that his bat speed is unchanged from last year, we don’t have big concerns here yet. That said, this might not be the weekend he turns it around, given that the Rangers are set to face the Dodgers.

No surprise here. Pederson takes a seat for Monday’s series opener at Wrigley Field with Cubs lefty ace Justin Steele toeing the rubber. It’ll be Jonah Heim taking a turn at DH with Kyle Higashioka handling the catching duties.

Pederson tagged Rockies’ right-hander German Marquez for a two-run blast in the opening inning that gave the Rangers an early 2-0 edge. The 32-year-old slugger also lined out to left field and drew a walk in the contest, finishing the evening 1-for-2. He’s now hitting .250 (8-for-32) with four homers and 12 RBI in his first spring with the Rangers.

Pederson started at first base today. It’s something that could happen on occasion during the regular season against tough right-handers, particularly if the team wants to give Corey Seager a half-day off as a DH.