The Detroit Tigers are in full rebuild mode, and Isaac Paredes projects as a big part of their future. His bat is the primary reason why. Despite an August swoon that caused his numbers to plummet, the 18-year-old shortstop finished the season with a .725 OPS. Given that he was one of the youngest players in the Midwest League, that?s not exactly chicken soup.
Paredes was acquired by the Tigers, along with Jeimer Candelario, in the trade-deadline deal that sent Alex Avila and Justin Wilson to the Cubs, and the news threw him for a loop. When I talked a him a week and a half later, the Hermosillo, Mexico native admitted to having been shocked and not particularly pleased. His initial thought was ?this is something bad.?
Once his head stopped spinning, his attitude shifted to ?this is a good thing.? Paredes realized he was going to an organization that would be relying heavily on players just like himself.
He encountered both similarities and differences when he swapped out his South Bend Cubs uniform for one worn by their Midwest League rivals, the West Michigan Whitecaps.
?Some things are the same, but others aren?t,? Paredes told me with the help of a translator. ?The defense is a little different. In South Bend, I was more to myself, looking at how the pitcher was working and moving on my own. Here, there are more shifts.
?Hitting is the same, but that?s because they haven?t really said anything yet. I just got here, so I think they?re mostly just watching what I do with my swing.?
According to Whitecaps hitting coach Mike Hessman, that?s what was happening.
?So far I?m mostly just trying to stay out of his way and let him do his thing,? the minor league home run king told me at the time. ?For an 18-year-old kid, he has an idea of how his swing works. He?s also got a clue ? he?s got a game plan ? when he steps into the batter?s box. It?s just a small sample size, but we like what we see.?
The night before, I?d watched Paredes stroke a pair of base hits, which gave him eight hits in his last 13 at bats. The youngster smiled when I asked him if hitting is easy.
?No, it?s hard,? answered Paredes. ?It?s never easy, but I?m always prepared. It?s also really fun. That?s the best thing there is in baseball ? hitting.?
Few things in baseball are more fun than leaving the yard, and while Paredes focuses on staying gap to gap ? ?I just hit it as hard as possible, and if the ball goes, the ball goes? ? Hessman sees more fence-clearers ahead.
?For one thing, he looks like he wants to do some damage,? said Hessman. ?He?s definitely not up there getting cheated. He gets a good load, he gets into a good launch position, he gets the bat in a good spot. The power is already showing (Paredes homered 11 times this year) and the older and stronger he gets? let?s just say there?s more in the tank.?
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