San Diego Padres: Staying True to the Analytics by Limiting Paddack’s Innings

One of the pleasant surprises for 2019 has been Chris Paddack for the San Diego Padres, but the young phenom is on an innings limit for this season.

There has been plenty of excitement surrounding the 2019 San Diego Padres as the team is competitive and the fans look forward to seeing Chris Paddack pitch every fifth day.

Sure, Paddack’s inexperienced has shown against quality opponents, but he has exhibited the ability to command the strike zone in a short period of work. Some believe shutting down a young talent like Paddack is a crime, especially if the Padres are contending for a wild-card berth in the final month of the season.

That might be true, but for the San Diego Padres, it’s all about staying true to the analytics.

The New Age of Major League Baseball

It’s a new age in major league baseball as most fans have accepted the pitching rules associated with the game today. No one questions when a starting pitcher exits a game after throwing 100 pitches or when a team uses an opener to begin a contest. Another rule that has become the norm is shutting down a young pitcher after he has reached his projected innings for the season.

Still, older fans scream how the sport has become too specialized. The truth is players are advancing through the minors at a faster rate than ever before, but pitcher’s arms aren’t fully developed because they haven’t thrown the required innings needed before debuting in the majors.

In today’s minor leagues, a starting pitcher may only appear once a week, which limits the number of innings that could be accumulated as the season ends in early September. For example, Paddack pitched 90 innings between stints in A and Double-A ball last season and that’s being less than two years removed from Tommy John surgery. It’s all about gradually increasing a pitcher’s workload before the restrictions are lessened.