Despite a loss on Saturday night, the Twins manager liked what he saw from the young right-hander on the mound against Colorado.
The Minnesota Twins fell 8-5 to the Colorado Rockies on Saturday night at Target Field, dropping to 39-45 on the season.
While the team did bounce back on Sunday with a win, first-year manager Derek Shelton still walked away feeling good about something he saw on the mound, and that was starter Mike Paredes.
What Shelton Had to Say
Paredes took the ball Saturday and gave the Twins 5.1 innings, allowing three earned runs on eight hits with two strikeouts and zero walks on 74 pitches.
The game got away from Minnesota when the bullpen gave up five runs across the seventh and eighth, but Shelton was not focused on what fell apart.
"He throws strikes and makes you put the ball in play," Shelton said postgame. "He does not beat himself, which I think is a really good attribute for a guy in his role."
That zero in the walk column was the most telling number of Paredes' night.
The 25-year-old right-hander had issued six walks across his first 15 innings since his May 31 debut, so going through 74 pitches without a single free pass showed real growth in how he attacks the zone.
Why He Fits What Minnesota Needs
Paredes was called up from Triple-A St. Paul after Bailey Ober went down with right elbow inflammation, and since then he has filled whatever gap the Twins' banged-up rotation has needed him in.
The former 18th-round pick out of San Diego State entered Saturday with a 4.05 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP across five appearances, and while those numbers will not jump off the page, they show someone who can hold his own after being at Triple-A just a month ago.
Shelton pointed to the approach more than the results after Saturday's game.
Paredes does not try to overpower hitters and he does not nibble around the zone, instead choosing to fill it up, force contact, and let the defense work behind him.
That type of pitching steadiness has been tough to find in the rotation this year, where walks and control problems have shown up too often.
Looking Ahead for the Twins
With Pablo Lopez out for the year following elbow surgery and both Ober and Mick Abel still sidelined, Minnesota has leaned on its younger arms far more than anyone expected.
Zebby Matthews, Connor Prielipp, and now Paredes have all been asked to carry innings that were supposed to belong to more experienced pitchers, and Paredes' ability to eat frames without beating himself could keep him in the mix well into the second half.
The Rockies improved to 33-50 with Saturday's win, powered by three home runs from Hunter Goodman, but Shelton's postgame tone was not about frustration.
He saw a young pitcher who competes, keeps his team in the game, and gives the Twins a real chance to win on most nights, which for a team trying to stay in the race is more than enough reason to keep handing him the ball.
