Joc Pederson, the 23-year-old rookie center fielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers set a new high for home run distance in 2015 last Tuesday in Colorado.

The home run, Pederson’s 16th of the year, which traveled 480-feet, is the farthest home run hit by anyone this season.

He has exhibited tremendous power this season, his average home run distance this year, according to stats, cast is 422-feet, already the longest in major leagues.

Pederson, a Bay Area native raised in Palo Alto, attended Palo High School and played baseball all four years.

He helped lead Palo Alto’s team to the Santa Clara Valley Athletic De Anza Division title and was co-league MVP in 2010.

His father, Stu Pederson, played for the Dodgers in 1985 and coached with De Anza College baseball coach Erick Raich at Palo Alto high school in 2010.

Pederson graduated high school in 2010, and was drafted by the Dodgers in the 11th round of the 2010 minor league draft. He signed with the Dodgers on August 16, 2010.

Raich, who coached Pederson at Palo Alto said he isn’t surprised by his success.

“I wasn’t shocked that it [being drafted] happened, it was just more about how fast it happened,” Raich said.

In Pederson’s senior year, Palo Alto High School hired Raich as their men’s baseball coach.

Raich said Pederson’s character is the same on and off the field, likeable and “happy-go-lucky.”

Despite Pederson’s sudden rise in the MLB, Raich said, he was never one to care about titles and fame.

“I remember telling him [in high school] ‘if you keep pitching like that, you could be the player of the year.’ and he just said he couldn’t care less,” Raich said. “He never cared about the awards and things like that, he just wanted to play.”