Paddack untouchable for Grasshoppers

After another dominant outing, Chris Paddack thinks he can be even better. The rest of the South Atlantic League is hoping he's wrong.

The Marlins' No. 18 prospect pitched five hitless innings and recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts on Sunday afternoon, pitching Class A Greensboro to a 7-0 blanking of Rome at NewBridge Bank Park.

Paddack (2-0) used his fastball to take control. The pitch proved so effective, it relegated his 65-grade changeup to the role of setup pitch.

"I'm a guy that doesn't change anything unless they prove to me that they can hit my fastball, and my fastball was working today," the 2015 eighth-round pick said. "It's usually pretty good location-wise, but today was probably one of the best it has been all year, so I was really excited."

Paddack faced one over the minimum and allowed only a walk to Lucas Herbert in the second. He fanned at least two batters in all five innings, striking out the side in the second.

The 20-year-old right-hander had his outing come to an abrupt end after the fifth. Leaving with the no-hit bid intact wasn't easy, but he said he understood the decision.

"As good a performance as I was throwing, it was a little frustrating, but at the same time, I got over it and our two relievers [Justin Jacome and Kyle Keller] did a great job of keeping the momentum on our side," Paddack said. "It is a little tough, but me being a young prospect they told me and [No. 14 Marlins prospect Jordan] Holloway that we're probably not going to go more than five innings all year."

Keller surrendered Rome's hit, a leadoff single to left by Herbert in the eighth that led to some playful ribbing among the Grasshoppers pitching staff.

"I was talking to Keller and we were giving each other a hard time," Paddack said. "But I was excited for him because the next pitch he got a ground-ball double play. As a pitcher, that's what we're supposed to do and I tip the cap to the guys that came in today."

Paddack's numbers since joining Greensboro on May 25 are also worthy of a tip of the cap. The Texas high school product owns a 1.47 ERA and 31-to-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio through four starts. His 0.60 WHIP ranks second in the Minor Leagues during that span.

After spending the first month and a half of the season at extended spring training with shoulder soreness, he expressed little satisfaction with how quickly he's found success in his full-season debut.

"I'm so blessed to be where I'm at today," Paddack said. "There's always room to get better, so tomorrow I'm going to watch film and see some things I can get better on. I'm never going to satisfy myself or get big-headed on myself. One of the quotes I always like saying is, 'Stay humble, be great.'

"I'm going to soak in the great performance tonight and then tomorrow I'm going to get back after it."

Marlins No. 29 prospect Justin Twine had two hits and three RBIs, while Kyle Barrett went 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored for the Grasshoppers.

Fifth-ranked Braves prospect Kolby Allard (0-2) surrendered five runs on eight hits and two walks while fanning four over three frames in his second start for Rome.