Chris Paddack Leaves After Comebacker and Four Other Things That Might Matter

Twins starting pitcher Chris Paddack left Saturday’s game after a comebacker glanced off the tip of his glove and hit him in the head. Statcast measured the exit velocity of the ball as 97.6 mph. The Twins reported that Paddack suffered a head contusion but did not suffer a concussion. It was the second time a comebacker had hit Paddack in the same inning. Three batters earlier, he had taken a ball off of his tricep but remained in the game. 

“I think he's going to be okay,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said after the game. “The ball deflected off of his glove, the webbing of his glove, and probably kind of lessened the impact, who knows how much. He seems like himself."

Prior to the event, Paddack had been cruising. He sailed through the first two innings on 18 pitches. His fastball was sitting in the 93-95 mph range and generated four swings and misses in the 27 pitches he threw, which included 22 strikes and two strikeouts over 2 ⅓ innings.

Luke Keaschall Is Taking Advantage of Camp
Just by looking at lineups, one can get a feel for which players are getting some extra attention. For instance, eight of the players in Saturday’s Twins lineup are either projected to make the team or at least be in the mix. That makes the ninth player stand out a bit. 

That ninth player was Twins Daily’s #3 Twins prospect, Luke Keaschall, who started at designated hitter. On Friday, he had a similar honor, batting as a designated hitter in a similarly loaded road lineup that included Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton, Trevor Larnach, and Jose Miranda. On Saturday, he acknowledged the honor with a 413-foot blast to left field for his first spring training home run. 

And after the game, Baldelli acknowledged that Keaschall had earned those opportunities. “He's having really good at-bats. He plays hard. He's fulfilling his end of his responsibilities being in major league camp as a young player. He's doing a great job. So yeah, if he was overwhelmed with the experience, I probably wouldn't be wedging him on in there.”

Keaschall normally plays in the infield and is only playing designated hitter right now because he’s coming back from Tommy John surgery. He delayed that surgery for most of last season, but it didn’t slow him down; Keaschall hit .303 with a 903 OPS between High A and Double A. He underwent surgery in August so he could be back in time for the full 2025 season. If this year follows last year’s (and this spring’s) script, this won’t be the last time he finds himself in a lineup full of Minnesota Twins. 

Jhoan Duran Looks Like Jhoan Duran
Jhoan Duran pitched the fourth inning in Saturday’s game, needing only seven pitches to mow down the Red Sox in a scoreless inning. But those seven pitches included two that cracked the 100 mph barrier, the first time we’ve seen that from Duran this spring. Those seven pitches also included a three-pitch strikeout of Red Sox first baseman Nick Sogard. Finally, it gave him the lead (relievers category) in the Twins’ pitching staff’s new “Fewest Pitches in an Inning Contest” this week, though the week goes through Monday.

Buxton Steals Bases and Hearts, But With His Glove
In the third inning, Rod Sox outfielder Jarren Duran hit a ball 386 feet to the warning track in right-center field. But Byron Buxton chased it down, gliding into the wall shortly after the catch. He made the catch look so routine, it feels a little silly to mention it, except that there was nothing routine about stealing that extra-base hit. In fact, it was how routine he made it look that is the remarkable part. 

So, of course, he did it again. Three innings later, Buxton turned and sprinted down a similarly impressive 401-foot, 102-mph liner to deep center field. The victim? Poor Jarren Duran again. 

Baldelli admitted after the game that, as a former center fielder, he appreciates watching Buxton, but thinks Buck has an even bigger admirer on the team, and one with a Gold Glove. “I think Harrison Bader in right field might have enjoyed it more than anyone else,” he said. “When one of the best defenders in baseball is also your biggest hype man, that's pretty cool.”

We May Need To Get Ty France a “Wonderboy” Bat
Repeat after me: spring training stats don’t mean a damn thing. Spring training stats don’t mean a damn thing. Spring training stats don’t mean a damn thing. OK. Good exercise. 

Now let’s all get irrationally excited about new Twins first baseman Ty France’s spring training stats. France added a double and home run to his already gaudy stats in Saturday’s 9-8 win over the Red Sox. To put it mildly, France has made a good first impression, going 11-20 (.550 batting average) with two home runs and a 1641 OPS. Basically, he’s been Roy Hobbs. 

Also like Hobbs, this is a little hard to believe. France is a 30-year-old who the Twins signed one week before spring training for $1M. Last year, he was designated for assignment in July. That was the result of a two-year slide, and the first led to the second. “I shouldn't have, but I panicked a little because I wasn't used to that kind of production,” France said about the first of those two years. “So I was like, ‘Okay, how can I get back to being my old self, or putting up those numbers again’ and kind of got lost.” He started overthinking everything and thinks that, along with some injuries, turned the one down year into two down years. 

France emphasized that this year he’s just trying to keep things simple, quit worrying about mechanics so much, and get back to enjoying the game. That is all working right now. For a player who was unemployed a month ago, it’s the kind of (fresh) start that France needed.

Now, once again, repeat after me…

Are we being too rational about France's start, or not rational enough? Let us know in the comments.