Angel Pagan’s ability to return from back surgery could be a key to the Giants building their lineup as flexibly as they want this season. By Ray Ambler, RA Photos

The baseball season’s coming up and Mike Krukow thinks Yasiel Puig is dumb for not pegging the Giants as their biggest rival. In San Luis Obispo, I’d say they are, though the two teams have not met in the playoffs since the Wild Card round started.

I thought it would be fun to, over the next few weeks, go position by position and compare what personnel the two teams have in preparation for the 2015 season. Let’s finish up the defense up the middle with the center fielder.

Position by Position: Catcher

Position by Position: First Base

Position by Position: Second Base

Position by Position: Third Base

Position by Position: Shortstop

Position by Position: Left Field

Joc Pederson

Joc Pederson has spent the last few years building acclaim in the minor leagues. He had a cup of coffee in 2014 with limited success, hitting just .143 in 38 plate appearances. Pederson’s minor league numbers are much better though. In the launching pad that is the Pacific Coast League, Pederson hit 33 home runs in 121 games last year.

His first of the spring came over the head of right-fielder Will Ferrell.

Ferrell doesn’t have much range anyway, but this one looked like it was going to go to the moon. It’s the kind of thing Dodger fans hope happens a lot this season.

At 22 years of age, Pederson looks like he’ll be given the starting center field job to lose. The Palo Alto, California product should be able to upgrade the Dodgers’ defense in center field after the departure of Matt Kemp and the uncertainty surrounding Andre Ethier.

Pederson seems like he’ll have a productive first year. He’s on the top of everyone’s prospect list. He was Baseball America’s number 8 prospect before this season.

Dodger fans will at-worst get not much less than they got last season from the center field position with a distinct upgrade defensively. At-best, Pederson could be a revelation — center fielders who hit 25-30 homers don’t grow on trees, after all.

Of non-pitchers, ZiPS projects Pederson to be the third most valuable Dodger behind Yasiel Puig and Howie Kendrick. A lot of this comes from the position he will play and how he’ll play it.

Angel Pagan

Angel Pagan has hit .283 over a 9-year major-league career through 2014. In three seasons in San Francisco, Pagan’s Giants have won two World Series titles with Pagan as their main center fielder. His steady play and timely hitting have provided some spark in their lineup and Bruce Bochy will be counting on him again in 2015.

Last season, Pagan has back issues, which isn’t a great sign for a center fielder in his decline phase. At age 33, Pagan probably cannot be expected to man the vast center field reaches of AT&T Park at the same levels he has. I’m a few months older than him and I can attest to the fact that bodies start breaking down at a certain point.

That said, Pagan has a decent history and the Giants are counting on him to have a bounce-back season. If he doesn’t, the Giants have two versitile outfield defenders in Gregor Blanco and Nori Aoki ready to fill-in. Coming off back surgery, I would expect the Giants not to rush Pagan back to playing 6 days per week.

Since they have I would expect them to shuffle the lineup a little to start the season. I actually think they would have liked to mix and match Aoke, Pagan, and Blanco in left and center field more, but with Hunter Pence’s recent injury, players like Travis Ishikawa also might see some serious playing time, though not in center field.

The verdict

I know I made the argument in my shortstop comparison that Jimmy Rollins, at age 36, could hold his own enough to not drop-off significantly this season. I don’t think I can make the same argument for Pagan.

The Giants are an “every other year” good team, so this is the year a lot of things could go wrong for them. One of these things might be the level they are depending on Pagan’s bat.

I’m bullish on Pederson. Yes, he will strike out a lot. But he’ll also be a plus fielder (a huge improvement for the Dodgers) and he should provide consistent play and energy that you can expect from a young whipper snapper.

If both play, the downside for Pederson is lower than Pagan’s, but Pederson’s upside is so much higher that it’s hard to go any other way. No risk, no reward.

Center Field Advantage: Dodgers