Reign of Paredes

Jimmy Paredes is on some kind of tear. It would be astounding that this relatively unknown player is providing a desperately needed shot in the arm to this Orioles club, if it weren’t that Orioles fans have seen this story unfold before.

In the Dan Duquette/Buck Showalter era, we have seen a number of surprise stories. A quick review:

Nate McLouth

The former NL All-Star was released by the Pittsburgh Pirates in May 2012, and was given the opportunity to resurrect his career when the Orioles signed him on a minor league deal. McLouth responded by putting up a line of .268/.342/.435/.777 over 236 ABs, in the heat of a magical run to the playoffs. McLouth was also one of the few Orioles bats that didn’t completely go silent in the ALDS. If his foul ball had been an eyelash closer to the foul pole, the series might have ended differently.

In 2013,  while he had all the “grit” and “hussle” the fans love, he provided league-average offensive production (.323 wOBA and 101 wRC+). The Orioles let him sign a (ridiculous) contract with the Washington Nationals in the following offseason, but for a short period of time, this guy who had been released and left for dead became a star in Baltimore.

Danny Valencia

Less significant than McLouth’s impact (particularly because the 2013 season didn’t end in a playoff berth), Danny Valencia was no less impressive. His 2013 line with the Orioles was .304/.335/.553/.888 over 170 ABs. His wOBA was .381 and his wRC+ 141. Valencia killed left-handed pitching, which is why Duquette acquired him from the Red Sox (for cash considerations).

The only knock on Danny Valencia is that he he was the outgoing portion of the David Lough trade. I may never be able to forgive him for that.

Steve Pearce

Well, I think we’ve covered this one pretty completely. He was good. Really, really good. He was not supposed to be this good. And this year, he’s filled in admirably at second base. Yes, you read that correctly. The story has yet to be finished on Steve Pearce. We don’t know  if he will have anywhere near the season he had in 2014, or if the player he becomes will be a meaningful one for the Orioles. But he does this on occasion:

So, back to Paredes.

Paredes can flat out hit. He may be a liability in the field, but he plays DH really, really well.  Paredes will qualify to count in league leader categories if he gets four ABs tonight. If he qualified today, Paredes would rank 4th in AVG and 4th in SLG. If MLB cared about such things, he would be 7th in wRC+ and 8th in wOBA.

He does the little things. We talked on the podcast this week about his hustle contributing to an Orioles victory. Jimmy Paredes seems as satisfied with beating out an infield single as he does belting a three-run homer.

The Reign of Paredes has been a lot of fun to watch, and it has come when the team has needed it the most. But as with all good things, it cannot last forever. Jimmy Paredes is enjoying a highly unsustainable .395 BABIP, which points to a number of things, including dumb luck. The real question is: what will happen when Paredes cools? How far will the drop off be? Will he be a productive hitter when his BABIP falls back to mortal levels? Can he maintain a league-average bat, or will it be a case of huge peaks and huge valleys?

No one can say for certain. But this much we know: it’s a joy to watch Jimmy Paredes hit a baseball right now – make sure you soak it in. And whatever Orioles Magic is fueling it, I hope it lasts for quite some time.