MILWAUKEE -- After hitting his seventh home run of the season in an 8-2 Los Angeles Dodgers victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday, center fielder Joc Pederson was unwinding when his phone started buzzing.

"It's kind of funny,” Pederson said. “I was playing video games last night with Scott [Van Slyke] and Bryce Harper just sent me a text and said, 'Keep it up, keep going,' and I turned the TV on today, and he had three home runs. I guess you could say I was just trying to keep up with him.”

All of Joc Pederson's last seven hits, including two on Wednesday, have been home runs. Jeff Hanisch/USA TODAY Sports

Pederson just missed Harper’s pace Wednesday, hitting two more in a 6-3 loss to the Brewers. Here's a stat that'll raise some eyebrows: Pederson’s last seven hits all have been home runs.

While Adrian Gonzalez and Yasiel Puig draw most of the attention -- and the payroll -- Pederson is very quietly establishing himself as a key component of the Dodgers’ offense.

For the season, Pederson is batting .272 with five doubles, 18 RBIs and a team-high 21 walks. His .423 on-base percentage is second among qualified NL rookies behind Cubs phenom Kris Bryant, and he’s fourth among all NL players with a 1.090 OPS.

"Just trying to put a quality at-bat on it,” Pederson said. “Just put a good swing on a good pitch. Try to keep it simple.”

Strikeouts (34) are Pederson’s biggest weakness right now, but manager Don Mattingly attributes some of that to getting adjusted to major league pitching.

“I really like seeing him hit balls to center because I know the bat's staying in the strike zone,” Mattingly said. “I think as he stays with that plan more and more, I think the strikeouts come down and we see hits all over the field. Obviously he's either walking or hitting a homer right now, but I do like the ball going to center.”

The manager also isn’t worried that Pederson’s recent power surge might affect his swing negatively for the long term.

“I think we've got enough people around here to keep him thinking the right way,” Mattingly said. “He’s a baseball player from the standpoint of he's trying to put the ball in play hard. I don't think he's necessarily trying to hit homers, but his swing kind of fits into that. But he's a guy that's basically trying to hit the ball hard somewhere, and when he hits it, it usually goes.”

Pederson also has shown a flair for the dramatic defensively and Wednesday robbed Brewers starter Wily Peralta of a home run with an over-the-railing grab in left center.

“[Pederson] made a really nice play,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “He’s a good, young player. He’s a dangerous young player. He’s got quality plate discipline and he’s got power -- those are two pretty good traits.”

Pederson was the Dodgers' 11th-round selection in the 2010 MLB draft. He was rated the eighth-best prospect in baseball by Baseball America coming into the season after batting .303 with 33 home runs and 78 RBIs for Triple-A Albuquerque last season.