Allie Shorin

Pederson (right) led Paly to 29 wins in 2010. Now, just over two months after graduating, he will start playing in the Dodgers organization.

Former Palo Alto High School baseball player Joc Pederson ('10) has agreed to terms of a contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the same Major League Baseball team for which his father played 25 years ago, according to mlb.com and Pederson's Facebook posts.

Although the agreement is still pending a physical, Pederson expects to head to Arizona Wednesday to start playing for a rookie league team in the Dodgers organization.

The center fielder, who led the Vikings to a second place finish in the Central Coast Section (CCS) playoffs this past spring, was drafted in the 11th round on June 8.

Pederson went unsigned by the Dodgers until just hours before Monday night's deadline. The Dodgers signed 27 of their 50 draft picks prior to the 9 p.m. deadline.

Pederson fell to the 11th round due to widespread knowledge that he had received a scholarship to play at the University of Southern California. However, his opportunity at USC is also what gave him some power in contract negotiations. Pederson received the second highest-paying bonus that the Dodgers dished out to any of their draft picks this year, at $600,000.

In an Aug. 2 interview with ESPN, Pederson was still undecided as to whether or not he would go straight to playing professional baseball.

He said that then-USC baseball coach Chad Kreuter had made him think seriously about attending USC, a top-notch baseball school.

"I really like Coach Kreuter and the style that he coaches," Pederson told ESPN. "One of the reasons that I like it [at USC] is it’s more about pro ball. Coach Kreuter was in the majors for so long and he knows exactly how it is.

"It’s hard making the decision because I want to go play for this coach, but I also know that if we don’t win this next year he could be gone."

On Aug. 9, a week after the interview with Pederson, Kreuter was fired.

"[I] can't stop now though, [the major leagues are still] a long ways away," Pederson said in a Facebook post early Tuesday morning.

He added that he is just "keepin' it simple."