Paredes spins hitless gem for Hooks

Double-A Corpus Christi pitching coach Graham Johnson has noticed that even when Enoli Paredes isn't executing at his best, his stuff looks sharp. For the Astros' No. 25 prospect, it's been about finding consistency in having his pitches work the way they should. On Friday, he had it all working.
Paredes tossed six hitless innings and recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts, but the Hooks fell to Midland, 3-1, at Whataburger Field. 

"For him, when he executes pitches at a high level, he's very, very tough to hit," Johnson said. "The stuff is kind of there day in and day out. It's really for him about getting to the locations consistently that he knows that he needs to."
Starting the season with Class A Advanced Fayetteville, Paredes had plenty of success in the Carolina League with a 1.64 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 59 strikeouts across 44 innings. The right-hander earned a promotion to the Texas League on June 6, but adjusting to the new level led to some rough outings as he carried a 5.60 ERA into Friday's outing.
But after allowing five runs on six hits over 4 1/3 innings his last time out, Paredes rebounded by throwing 59 of 91 pitches for strikes and working around a pair of walks. The six innings matched his deepest start this year, which he's done twice with the Hooks. 
There were some small adjustments Paredes worked on between starts, including working on better utilizing his breaking stuff against Midland. 
"I think the big thing was in Amarillo that he got caught simply throwing the slider for a strike, where in this one he was trying to attack a specific location. If you were going to nail it down to the biggest difference between the two things, that's probably it right there," Johnson said. "He has the ability to throw his slider for a strike and the ability to get swing and miss with the slider. Tonight, he was just better in terms of executing quality locations."
Gameday box score
Paredes struck out the first four RockHounds before facing his toughest test with one out in the second when he walked Edwin Diaz and plunked Nate Mondou. But the native of the Dominican Republic whiffed Collin Theroux and Brallan Perez to avoid trouble.
Taylor Motter walked with one in the fourth and advanced to second when 19th-ranked Astros prospect J.J. Matijevic missed a pickoff throw at first. Working with another runner in scoring position, Paredes struck out Diaz and got Mondou to fly to center. 
The hurler has generally had little trouble the first time through the order, Johnson said, but when he's had issues, it's been later in the game. On Friday, Paredes found ways to stay sharp throughout and adjust on the fly before the RockHounds could catch up.
"You're excited for that first time through the order because the results are the results and you like what you're seeing," Johnson said. "I'm not saying I'm holding my breath during that second one, but to get through that first time through the order, that's really what you lock in on."
Motter proved to be the last baserunner against the Hooks starter, who set down the final eight batters he faced to lower his Texas League ERA to 4.18. In his Minor League career, Paredes owns a 2.29 ERA with 262 strikeouts in 59 games, including 24 starts. His tenure on the circuit hasn't been long, but he's heading in the right direction, according to his pitching coach. 

"The big thing with all of our pitchers is how consistent can they be," Johnson said. "Day in and day it, we kind of talk about it that baseball is kind of boring in a lot of aspects. You've gotta get good at doing the same things over and over and over. And I think that's what young players tend to struggle with, especially when they have a start that doesn't go the way -- in their mind -- that it should. 
"So, yeah, absolutely this was nice to see."
Scoreless into the seventh, the RockHounds broke through with two runs as Mondou delivered an RBI single and Diaz scored on an error by shortstop Osvaldo Duarte. 
Astros No. 20 prospect Abraham Toro logged his third multi-hit effort in four games, going 2-for-4 with a run scored for Corpus Christi.