Channeling Ventura
» Astros prospect sizzles on mound once ruled by late mentor.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kauffman Stadium stood in silence when the Astros arrived from the airport Monday afternoon. Players filtered inside the visiting clubhouse and readied for their first game in four months. Three players came out early and hung on the dugout railing. Enoli Paredes positioned himself near the middle.
Paredes stared toward the pitcher’s mound, one Yordano Ventura once overtook. Memories of a fallen friend flooded back. As a youngster in the Dominican Republic, Paredes watched Ventura throw in the 2014 and 2015 World Series. The Kansas City Royals were atop the sport, and Ventura was one of their catalysts.
Paredes found a mentor in his countryman, a snapshot of what could be possible in baseball. After the Astros signed Paredes for $10,000 in 2016, he started to train alongside Ventura in the Dominican Republic. Paredes peppered the Royals’ budding star with questions.
“I asked how he felt pitching in the World Series when everyone was watching him,” Paredes said Tuesday. “He told me that he just tried to do what he knows to do; he wasn’t trying to do too much.”
Tragedy tore the duo apart in 2017. Ventura died in a car accident at 25, stunning the baseball world and leaving Paredes without a man to admire. He toed the Kauffman Stadium rubber during Tuesday’s 15-4 Astros victory with visions of Ventura in his mind.
“I was thinking he was here, throwing that World Series. Today was my opportunity,” Paredes said. “I had to do the same — attack the hitters and do the best. I’m happy because I threw on the same mound as my brother.”
Pitching in the stadium his mentor once owned, the wiry righthander authored a compelling case to make the Astros’ opening-day roster. Paredes struck out five batters in two innings. His fastball touched 98.3 mph. He threw nine sliders that generated three swings and misses. The effort was minimal.
To start his outing in the fifth, Paredes struck out the side on 11 pitches. His fastball command was excellent. Confidence grew with every pitch. Three-time AllStar Alex Gordon was his final victim, offering a feeble half-swing at a two-strike slider.
“Man, that was one of the best innings I ever caught,” catcher Dusrtin Garneau said. “The way he just executed every pitch that I called. Everything that he threw he threw with conviction, and he didn’t overdo it.”
Similarities between Paredes, 24, and Ventura are striking. Paredes stands 5-foot-11, and Ventura was 6-foot. And as Ventura did, Paredes has an obvious aura of assurance.
Ventura challenged any and all, even baseball’s most established hitters. He stared down Mike Trout in 2014. In 2016, Ventura incited a brawl in Baltimore after plunking Manny Machado with a 99 mph fastball.
Last week, Astros shortstop Carlos Correa commended Paredes
for “coming right at you” with mid-90s heat. Paredes touched 98 mph Tuesday and averaged 95.9. Ventura threw a fastball that touched 99 mph and, in his final big league season, averaged 96.8.
Ventura threw a curveball. Paredes primarily uses a slider but can show a curveball. Their bond also includes a changeup — and Paredes paid special attention to his over the winter. He gained 19 pounds, too, and now weighs 186. Adding the weight will only make him more durable as his major league career progresses.
Paredes has thrown only 50 innings above Class A Advanced. His non-roster invitation to major league spring training in February and inclusion in the Astros’ 2020 player pool both signal the organization’s affection for him.
Paredes ranks only 28th among Baseball America’s Top 30 Astros prospects. He struck out 12.3 batters per nine last season in 94 innings between Class A Advanced and Class AA. He yielded just 50 hits.
Even without much upper level minor league experience, Paredes appears on the verge of an opportunity. The Astros could potentially open the season without Joe Smith, Roberto Osuna, Austin Pruitt and Brad Peacock. They desperately require bullpen depth. Paredes has the potential to throw multiple innings and seems unafraid to attack major league hitters. Twenty-three of his 35 pitches Tuesday were strikes.
“I’m working, and I’m ready for the opportunity,” Paredes said. “I don’t have the decision, so I’m going to keep doing my best and working hard. When the opportunity comes, I’m going to try to help the team win the World Series again.”
Paredes’ sixth inning did not match his fifth. He yielded two singles — one of which was a bunt. Paredes walked 2019 second overall pick Bobby Witt. Jr. on four pitches to load the bases. Pitching coach Brent Strom paid a visit. Former Astros prospect Brett Phillips loomed.
Paredes misfired with his first two fastballs. Phillips took two more to even the count. He swung through the final one, a 95.3 mph elevated four-seamer, to put Paredes out of trouble. The pitcher bounded from the mound, slapped his glove and briefly looked at the sky.
“He was throwing here, on this mound in that World Series game,” Paredes said of Ventura. “That’s my dream, too. To throw in the World Series.”