Astros Slugger Has One of Baseball's Most Extreme Swing Paths

The Houston Astros knew that some regression with their offensive production was going to occur with the offseason they had.

Right fielder Kyle Tucker was traded to the Chicago Cubs and third baseman Alex Bregman departed in free agency, agreeing to a deal with the Boston Red Sox. Replacing those two homegrown stars was going to be a near impossibility.

One of the players tasked with attempting to replicate their production is third baseman Isaac Paredes.

He was acquired from the Cubs, along with pitcher Hayden Wesneski and star prospect Cam Smith, in the blockbuster offseason swap.

It was the second time in less than a year that Parades was on the move. Chicago acquired him from the Tampa Bay Rays ahead of the 2024 MLB trade deadline, but he struggled mightily upon the move.

An All-Star with the Rays last year, his production fell off a cliff with his unique swing seemingly not being a fit for Wrigley Field.

What Makes Isaac Paredes Swing So Unique?

There isn’t a player who swings with the intent to pull the ball more than Paredes. As shared by David Adler of MLB.com, the slugging third baseman has an extreme “pull” attack direction on his swing of 15 degrees.

JJ Bleday of the Athletics is second with 14 degrees.

“When you break down his swing, it is the attack direction that stands out. Paredes' bat is traveling extremely toward the pull field when he makes contact. Because he consistently lifts the ball to dead left field, he's able to take advantage of the shortest pathway to a home run,” Adler wrote.

That was something the Astros were hoping to be able to take full advantage of with the Crawford Boxes in left field of their home stadium, Daikin Park.

Paredes is able to make up for some underwhelming bat speed and average exit velocity by getting the ball in the air to the shortest part of the ballpark to hit a home run.

"I'd love to say there's a lot more behind the story. The only thing we do is, when he flies out to deep center, we remind him it's a lot closer to left field. I don't know if that's some deep science or thought, but that's really what it is,” his hitting coach with the Rays, Chad Mottola, said.

All 79 of his career home runs have been pulled and he has embraced the unique approach after the Rays helped him tap into being an extreme pull hitter.

His production will be key to the team sticking around in the American League playoff race.