How Rays’ Isaac Paredes found success pulling the ball to leftfield

ANAHEIM, Calif. — There’s a running joke going back a couple of years between Rays third baseman Isaac Paredes and Jonathan Erlichman, the team’s former process and analytics coach (known as “J-Money”), who returned this year to the front office.

Paredes would hit a few fly balls to centerfield and maybe even to the right side, or might start talking about swatting his elusive first opposite-field home run.

Erlichman, considered one of the smartest people in the Rays organization, is capable of analyzing and addressing the most complex issues using advanced data, propriety projections and theories that haven’t even been named yet.

He would seek out Paredes and remind him to stick to what he does best — pulling the ball to leftfield, often extremely down the line.

But for the most basic reason: “It’s closer.”

If there is a secret to Paredes’ success, it is just that.

He doesn’t hit the ball particularly hard.

He doesn’t hit it overly far.

But, by aiming for the shortest target, he hits it over the fence.

“It’s common sense,” Rays hitting coach Chad Mottola said. “But he has the ability to do it better than most,” obviously.”

Paredes, 25, has hit 57 home runs in the majors, including one against the Angels on Tuesday night. All went to leftfield.

“It’s insane,” starter Zach Eflin said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a pitch in or pitch away, he finds a way to get the barrel on it. He’s a lot of fun to watch.”

The Rays acquired the right-handed-hitting infielder from Detroit at the end of spring training 2022 as part of the return for Austin Meadows, who was traded to open a spot for Josh Lowe. The team felt Paredes had the swing, strength and strike-zone discipline to pull the ball with power.

Then it had to convince and encourage him to do so.

Paredes started the 2022 season at Triple-A Durham, joined the Rays for a week in early May, then returned in the middle of the month to stay.

His first series back, the way things work out, was against the Tigers. After pinch-hitting in the first two games, he started the third against his former mates and hit two home runs, both to leftfield.

It was the start of something.

“I think that’s when I first realized that I should be able to pull the ball more,” Paredes said via team interpreter Manny Navarro.

He hasn’t stopped.

Paredes hit 20 homers that season (in 111 games) and 31 last season, tied for eighth-most in the American League. He has three so far this season.

“He had the ability to do it,” Mottola said, “but he just didn’t seem like he took his shots. And that was the one thing.

“I’d love to tell you we predicted that he was going to be a 30-home-run hitter. I don’t think any of us anticipated the way it just immediately took off. So, I think he deserves a lot of credit both for trying it and it working out.”

So much so that Mottola would like to see other Rays try it.

“I think other guys should learn from it,” he said. “When you’re seeing 106 (mph off the bat) to centerfield in Detroit and not going anywhere, then all of a sudden you see 95 (mph) go out, it’s a reminder, Hey, it’s a lot easier to pull the ball.”

Picking the right spots to do so also has been key. Mottola said Paredes isn’t sacrificing anything else with his approach, citing his willingness, especially with two strikes, to change plans and hit balls up the middle and to rightfield. Often enough that pitchers can’t simply work him outside and avoid giving him anything to pull.

“He doesn’t get credit for the complete hitter he is,” Mottola said, “because everybody’s kind of talking about his home-run area, the Isaac zone, and not giving him credit for his strike-zone awareness and the way he has the ability to modify and have a complete at-bat with two strikes.”

Paredes sounds like he knows what matters most.

“My mentality is always to just hit it on my strong side,” he said. “Of course, you’re going to take your little squiggly hits to rightfield and all that stuff, but my strength is to the left side. And I’m going to just stick to what works for me.”

By pulling all of his homers and dropping quite a few just over fences — his average home-run distance last year of 378 feet was shortest of the 26 players who hit 30 or more — Paredes takes some ribbing from his teammates.

That would escalate significantly if/when he were to hit one out to rightfield. (Paredes said he hit one opposite-field homer among his 56 in the minors, in 2017 at Cleveland’s Class A Lake County stadium.)

“I feel like we’d have to do something just absurd, like maybe just clear the dugout out and just let there be nobody there for him to celebrate with,” second baseman Brandon Lowe said. “I’d probably buy him a bottle of champagne to celebrate, and just think it’d be the craziest thing in the world.”

If so, Paredes and Erlichman would have more to talk about when they next cross paths at Tropicana Field.

“We still joke around about it,” Paredes said. “Anytime I see him. I tell him we need him back in the dugout to remind me, ‘It’s closer.’”

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