Chris Paddack, Matt Daniels, and the Thumb of Destiny - Caretaker Exclusive

[Parker Hageman]

Spring training is full of little victories. For Chris Paddack, making a pitch move three inches to the left made him very happy, and now, he gets the chance to convert that into the bigger victories that come in the regular season.

Image courtesy of © Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

As a young pitcher in the Padres organization, Chris Paddack knew he needed something that would move to his glove side--away from a right-handed batter, and in on a left-handed one. He had a fastball with ride and a changeup with fade. He did not have a pitch that moved away from righties, though. He eventually landed on a curveball, but even that offering broke more vertically than horizontally. It was also thrown at 78-80 miles per hour, leaving a big gap between its speed and that of his other two pitches.

The main reason Paddack could not throw a slider effectively was that the way he naturally released the ball (having his hand and wrist twist to the left of the ball and imparting spin that moved toward righties, or pronation) prevented him from throwing a traditional slider--a pitch on which right-handed pitchers would have to get around the right side of the baseball with their fingers, or supinate.

"I'm a pronator," Paddack said about how his hand twists upon release. This makes producing the spin that would help pitches move to the glove side challenging. Paddack has a much easier time creating arm-side movement, as seen in his two-plane fastball or his changeup that sinks and fades.

One aspect of how he got the new slider to move in the direction he wanted stems from the grip to which the Twins staff introduced him. The Twins' pitching development staff is extremely adept at optimizing pitches. The tech guys, as Paddack refers to the people who interpret the data, helped figure out a way to get him to that movement.

"We actually changed the grip late spring," he said. "[Now it's] more of a two-seam cutter."

Paddack cited Matt Daniels as the coach who aided in the new grip. Daniels has become an increasingly vital and visible part of the team's instruction group recently.

When Adam Ottavino walked into Driveline in 2017, Matt Daniels was inexperienced w/ pitch design. But he overwhelmed the veteran w/ his preparation and care. The #MNTwins are now benefitting from a more experienced coach.https://t.co/eqJLsa8dUg

— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) March 21, 2024

For most of the spring, Paddack would throw his slider with a typical grip along the horseshoe of a baseball and try to manipulate the ball by pulling down on the side. This resulted in inconsistent glove-side movement. The new grip would be similar to a two-seam fastball, but with a notable difference – he moved his thumb up the side of the ball.

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[tarheeltwinsfan]

Interesting article. Thanks.

[bean5302]

Hopefully, Paddack's arm holds together with the extra force the Twins are asking of the pitch. That's both from a Twins and Paddack perspective. It's not fun watching guys get hurt and have their careers slip away. I wasn't a fan of the Paddack trade years ago (because of Rooker) and my much lower expectations of Paddack than what other seemed to have, but I'd like to see him prove me wrong and find sustained success!