Pederson leaves game with shoulder injury

Joc Pederson, the Dodgers' No. 2 prospect, left Tuesday's game at Triple-A Iowa after suffering an apparent right shoulder injury.

The Albuquerque Isotopes center fielder, who is tied for sixth in the Minors with 17 homers, landed hard on his shoulder when he dove for Josh Vitters' bloop single to right-center with two outs in the bottom of the first inning. Pederson, who landed about two feet short of the ball, got up and grabbed his arm before going back down on the field in pain.

He was examined by a trainer before Isotopes manager Damon Berryhill sent him to the dugout. Pederson walked off the field on his own.

Mike Baxter came in as a defensive replacement in right, with Jeremy Hazelbaker moving to center in the Isotopes' 6-2 loss.

An I-Cubs official indicated that Pederson was not injured seriously enough to warrant a visit to a hospital, but the severity of the injury remains unclear.

The 22-year-old California native is hitting .319 with 17 homers, 42 RBIs and a 1.005 OPS. He has 10 hits, four RBIs and a .442 on-base percentage in his last 10 games and is batting .393 with runners on base and .276 with runners in scoring position. The 2010 11th-round pick was a Futures Game All-Star last year and has been creating buzz lately as both a trade chip and a potential big league callup.