So far so good, Chris Paddack owners. He was filthy in his MLB debut. (AP Photo/Matt York, File) San Diego Padres right-hander Chris Paddack entered draft season as an exceedingly buzzy prospect, and his brilliant spring only enhanced his sleeper status (12.2 IP, 20 Ks, 2 BB, 3 ER). His minor league numbers were silly last season, as he struck out 120 batters over 90.0 innings and delivered a 0.82 WHIP across two levels. [It’s still not too late to join or create a 2019 Yahoo Fantasy Baseball league] Paddack finally made his regular season MLB debut on Sunday and, well ... wow. Have a look, gamers... Chris Paddack's - @PaddackChris - exciting MLB debut comes to a close. Here are all 7 of his K's. pic.twitter.com/6T8JvLd0Av — Alex Fast (@AlexFast8) March 31, 2019 The 23-year-old struck out seven batters over 5.0 frames, allowing just two hits, one walk and one run. He threw 79 pitches, 57 for strikes. His changeup, as advertised, was pure evil. Paddack missed the 2017 season following Tommy John surgery, but he now appears to be fully operational and capable of dominance. The Padres' pitching staff has allowed just five runs in four games to this point, so there's plenty to be excited about if you made a fantasy investment in this team's rotation. Joey Lucchesi, Eric Lauer and 22-year-old Nick Margevicius have produced terrific stat lines, too. But Paddack is the guy who had the most hype entering the year, and it seems we might have undersold him. Just in case you were unaware of the details of the trade that brought Paddack to San Diego back in 2016, here you go... YIKES. As win-now deals go, that one wasn't great. Rodney had pitched well for the Pads that year, but he was a mess in Miami. And he was already 39. Not great. The Marlins finished with 79 wins, 7.5 games back in the wild card chase. Anyway, if you're a Paddack drafter, feel free to take a victory lap in comments. He has the look of a fantasy difference-maker. We may not get 180-plus innings from him this season, but it’s not as if anyone paid an ace-level price.<doc-sep>Padres starter Chris Paddack thought he had his first major league hit and RBI when he swatted a line drive to right field with the bases loaded in the bottom of the second inning during Sunday afternoon’s game against the Giants. The combination of Paddack hitting a 95 MPH line drive and right fielder Gerardo Parra playing shallow, however, resulted in a 9-3 putout to end the inning. Just your everyday 9-3 putout 😲 pic.twitter.com/A23SsR7aab — SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) March 31, 2019 Paddack is making his major league debut today. He’s done work on the mound, holding the Giants hitless over four innings. He has yielded just one walk while striking out seven on 60 pitches. Despite Paddack’s effort, the game is still 0-0 as of this writing. Follow @Baer_Bill<doc-sep>If there was anything to take away from Chris Paddack's outing on Sunday, it's that the future is now in San Diego. The 23-year-old was fantastic in his first career MLB start, going five innings with seven strikeouts while allowing only two hits and one run in the Padres' 3-1 victory, which clinched them the series win over the Giants. Paddack, who had a 2.10 ERA and 120 strikeouts in 90 innings in the minor leagues last season, had never pitched above Double A prior to Sunday. He is ranked as the No. 5 prospect in the Padres' farm system and No. 33 in all of baseball. MORE: Watch 'ChangeUp', a new MLB live whiparound show on DAZN Although the Giants feature far from the most imposing lineup in baseball, Paddack still had the group off balance all game. He had all seven of his strikeouts between the second and fourth innings and retired 12 of the first 13 hitters he faced. After sporting a tie and cowboy hat as part of his When you're making the first start of your @MLB career, but you've still got the horses in the back. pic.twitter.com/cr3J18xZps — Cut4 (@Cut4) March 31, 2019 ">pregame look, Paddack's nasty changeup was on full display and got him multiple strikeouts throughout his outing. Chris Paddack, Wicked 85mph Changeup (K'ing the Side) and Pitching with Emotion. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Vq0EZBWjIP — Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 31, 2019 Chris Paddack, Front Door 82mph Changeup...and (still) pitching with emotion. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/i5GLS6p8EG — Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 31, 2019 Nice look at the arm-side run and fade of both Chris Paddack's fastball and changeup. Been a dominant three innings so far. #Padres pic.twitter.com/qAINQ2ji3t — Lance Brozdowski (@LanceBroz) March 31, 2019 While Paddack's debut was largely successful, he did suffer some minor embarassment when he was thrown out from right field on a would-be single with the bases loaded. Chris Paddack hit an RBI single to right in his first at-bat... ...but was thrown out at first base by the right fielder. pic.twitter.com/SsrHWIF3DX — Pitcher List (@PitcherList) March 31, 2019 Paddack is just one part of the youth movement sweeping San Diego. Highly touted prospects Fernando Tatis Jr. and Francisco Mejia also started the season on the Opening Day roster. Although Mejia is hitless in his first four at-bats this season, Tatis has collected three hits in four games while looking stout defensively at shortstop. The Padres feature 10 of MLBPipeline's Top 100 prospects. Even if 2019 is not San Diego's year, the (very) early returns on some of their young players, especially Paddack, look promising for the future.<doc-sep>Paddack allowed one run on two hits and a walk while taking the no-decision in Sunday's win over the Giants. He struck out seven. One of the Padres' best prospects, Paddack lived up to the hype with a terrific big-league debut. The 23-year-old cruised through four innings without allowing a hit but was eventually tagged with an RBI double from Pablo Sandoval. However, he'll get a much tougher test against St. Louis on Saturday.<doc-sep>
With Chris Paddack scheduled to make his major-league debut today vs. the San Francisco Giants, one of the most anticipated debuts in recent history for a San Diego Padres pitcher, it’s time to get to know the big right-hander. The Padres acquired Paddack in a 2016 trade with the Miami Marlins, sending away closer Fernando Rodney in exchange for a 20-year old A-level pitcher. In his third start in the Padres’ organization, Paddack injured himself and missed the entire 2017 season after Tommy John surgery. He blasted back onto the radar of Padres fans when he returned in 2018, posting a 2.24 ERA and a ridiculous 14.27 K/9 rate in 10 starts at Lake Elsinore (A+) before getting sent to San Antonio (AA), where he posted a 1.91 ERA in 7 starts. Padres fans were in love with the fast-rising prospect, and not just because Paddack looked like an ace on the hill. He looked like one off of it too, never shying away from showing off his Texan style. HAPPY OFFICIAL PADDACK DAY pic.twitter.com/zDyHppgsaW — Giannis AuntiegotaMACHADO (@TooMuchMortons) March 31, 2019 Paddack is a 6’4” power pitcher with pinpoint control, relying heavily on a fastball-changeup combination. He has also added a curveball since returning from injury and seems to be getting more comfortable throwing it. #Padres' No. 5 prospect Chris Paddack was tonight: 2.2 IP 1 H 0 R 1 BB 4 K Gameday: https://t.co/Mpq5pzNDym pic.twitter.com/rHkWpd8tNS — MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) March 26, 2019 While he hasn’t pitched above the AA level, Paddack wasn’t shy about wanting the make the roster out of Spring Training this year when he talked with Darren Smith back on March 6th: Listening to that, you’ll also notice that Paddack has already developed a strong relationship with Austin Hedges, who is likely going to be catching him in his first start on Sunday. Paddack (23) has his sights set on being the ace of what might be the youngest rotation in baseball, following starts from Eric Lauer (23), Joey Lucchesi (25), and Nick Margevicius (22). Today, against a Giants’ offense that has had a hard time scoring runs so far this season, he’ll get his first chance.