Tigers’ Chris Paddack ‘destroyed’ by Twins despite weak contact

At the MLB trade deadline, the Detroit Tigers didn’t make any splash additions, but they did bring n a few different options in the rotation and the bullpen. Their first move was acquiring Chris Padlock from the Minnesota Twins.

In Paddack’s second matchup against the Twins since the trade, he struggled mightily, allowing eight runs total in a loss to a Twins roster gutted at the trade deadline.

Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press revealed that, amid getting “destroyed” by the Twins, Paddack’s day on the mound wasn’t as bad as it seemed, thanks to one Twins statistic being below average.

Paddack Didn’t Allow Much Hard Contact.Paddack’s final line from the outing against the Twins had the trade deadline pickup go 5.2 innings, allowing nine hits, eight runs, three walks, while striking out four batters. His ERA jumped into the 5.00s, sitting at a 5.10 ERA after his 25th start.

But, as Petzold points out, Paddack didn’t allow much hard contact, even on the home runs he allowed. Braves Lee hit a home run off Paddack, but it was only for 98.4 mph, a few ticks below the average home run exit velocity of 104.5 mph.

“Of the 4,230 homers,” Petzold writes, “only 445 of them were hit with an exit velocity at or below 99 mph.”

That lower exit velocity was a theme for Paddack on the day, as the Twins rarely hit the ball hard against the former Twins starter.

“The Twins averaged an 87.5 mph exit velocity on 21 balls in play,” Petzold writes, “which was the weakest contact against Paddack in his four starts since joining the Tigers, following 96.4 mph against the Arizona Diamondbacks (July 30), 94 mph against the Twins (Aug. 5), and 95.5 mph against the Chicago White Sox (Aug. 11).”

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This weak contact wasn’t just weak for Paddack’s standards; it was below average exit velocity across baseball this season. The average exit velocity is 89.4 mph, and the Twins were 1.9 mph weaker than the average exit velocity.

While exit velocity isn’t the only factor in how well a pitcher pitches, weak contact is better for a pitcher, as it means fewer home runs and extra base hits. At least, normally. 

Paddack’s outing, while he struggled and allowed eight runs, he wasn’t getting tattooed by hitters. He was getting unlucky with where the Twins were hitting his pitches, as they didn’t hit the ball hard, just in the right places.

He has a 5.91 ERA in his four starts since joining the Tigers across 21.1 innings pitched. He’s had two solid outings and two rough outings. This latest was his worst, and was tied for the second most runs he’s allowed in a game this season.

Paddack has had his ups and downs, and while he was “destroyed” by the Twins, he didn’t allow hard contact. If he can get a little luckier and keep his hard contact down, he could turn the corner from his early struggles in Detroit.

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