Pre-Game:

The fiancé had big plans for our day in San Antonio. We left Austin at noon (which is about an 80 mile drive and coincidentally where CPadd hails from) for a 7:05 PM game.

Planned:

Stroll the river-walk for awhile Alamo audio tour Lunch Get buzzed at a brewery Walk aimlessly around downtown

Reality:

15 minute river-walk stroll PHENOMENAL LUNCH AT SCHILO’S (THE OLDEST RESTAURANT IN SAN ANTONIO!) We pigged out bigly

https://www.schilos.com/ – German Gem

This deliciously dominant deli diner doozy was an absolute treat

They brew their own root beer, which is undoubtedly the best I’ve ever had: It is ridiculously creamy, has egg whites and real maple syrup in it, AND is served in a little frosted mug. Our waitress Lisa was a beaut and allowed me 2 refills instead of 1. A+ We ordered the pretzels because we were starving and Meg gets real HANGRY. They were solid but the homemade spicy mustard makes them excellent. It’s not spicy in your mouth, persay, but it really cleans out your sinuses and has a wonderfully subtle (not overpowering) flavor. Pretzels: B- Homemade Spicy Mustard: A+ I ordered the Reuben and just got the chips. It wasn’t the best I’ve ever had (Crescent Moon – Omaha, Nebraska) but it was simple and tasty. The homemade thousand island dressing was applied lightly so it wasn’t oozing out of the sandwich, the sauerkraut was mild, the corned beef was sliced so it fit nicely within the confines of the bread and the bread was hearty enough to not get nasty from the sandwich’s moisture. Reuben: B+ Meg ordered the 2 sausages + 1 side platter. I had a taste of each. The cheddarwurst was excellent. Bratwurst: B- Cheddarwurst: A German Potato Salad: B I wasn’t finished (Meg was and did not partake in dessert and just gave me weird looks as I insisted on ordering the homemade cheesecake, which I devoured). She was especially disgusted when she caught me with the spoon touching my tonsils. As you must have noticed, homemade is a theme at Schilo’s, including the cheesecake. It was pretty much perfect and I can say confidently it was the best cheesecake that I’ve ever had. Cheesecake: A If you like German food, Schilo’s is a dining delight and must visit if you’re ever in San Antonio.

Walked very slowly back to the parking garage, entered vehicle, blasted the AC, went into a coma.

Non-Paddack Pitching Related Game Notes:

Hour rain delay Paddack seemed to have some high school buddies in the stands that did a solid amount of hootin’ & hollerin’ in the first couple innings. Opponent was the Arkansas Travelers (Mariners affiliate). Seattle’s system is barren and so is this roster. One item worth noting is that Eric “Jack Parkman” Filia does a pretty cool little shimmy each time he comes to the plate. “It drives the women here in Cleveland crazy” or does it make them puke? Ty France was the best position player on the field for San Antonio in my opinion. At the plate he did a great job of only swinging at pitches he could drive and he really let the ball travel deep into the zone, allowing him to get his lower half into the swing very nicely. His liner up the middle in the first inning was an absolute piss missile. He also made a great play at third where he charged a weakly hit grounder and made a strong throw to first baseman Kyle Overstreet. Josh Naylor played LF and showed some impressive athleticism on a couple occasions. One play in particular was really eye opening. On a ball hit way over his head, JNay sprinted directly back to the warning track while at the same time seeming to know exactly where the ball was headed the entire time. Excellent job of tracking the baseball. Matthew Batten played SS for the Mission last night and has the ability to get on base and swipe some bags. Wolff Municipal Stadium leaves much to be desired. Don’t be dumb, bring an umbrella to baseball games, or a hat, or anything but nothing.

Paddack Performance:

He came out firing in the first inning and established the fastball early (90-95, sat 92-94, touched 96). In all honestly, he commands the fastball on the inside and outside corners like an ace and it is heavy with great carry through the zone and pounds the catcher’s mitt (I’d guess the spin rate on the fastball is above average). I didn’t keep track, but he throws a lot of first pitch strikes and generally stays ahead in the count. First batter of the game. Apologies on the quality. I was using an iPhone 5. The only hit Paddack gave up in his 6 innings of dominance came in the 2nd inning on a solo shot by Joey Curletta. It was a first pitch oppo taco on a fastball that caught too much plate. He also only walked 1 batter on a count that went full and had very few high stress situations. He cruised. Like a boss. It was evident that he was working on his curveball last night. It sat 78-82 (similar to his plus plus change-up) and he struggled with his release point at times. The curveball is definitely a work in progress and might have the potential to be plus but at this time I’d plan on average. The 5 strikeouts on the night (less than his usual K/9) can be attributed to throwing a lot more curveballs than change-ups. The change-ups that he did throw were excellent. Love the delivery, it is clean and he repeats it like clockwork (which is why his fastball command it elite). He takes his pregame exercises seriously (resistance band exercises, medicine ball throws, stretching-flexibility is great and agility drills). Turned an extremely smooth double play on a come-backer in the 5th or 6th inning that really highlighted his athletic ability as he made the play looks graceful and effortless. Pregame Bullpen

HOT TAKE/FINAL THOUGHTS:

Chris Paddack is the best starting pitching prospect in the minor leagues and should debut for the Padres in September. However, he most likely won’t because of service time considerations and innings limitations in his first year back from TJ (which seems like it never happened – similar to Walker Buehler). I expect his major league debut to come in May of 2019. Very exciting prospect that really knows how to pitch, has moxie, and will make Derek Jeter depressed that the Marlins traded him prior to his arrival.