Chris Paciolla Gains Valuable Experience Through First Part of the Season

May 7, 2024 by Sam Weiderhaft

Heading into the 2024 season, Chris Paciolla had minimal exposure to professional baseball. The high school draft pick was taken in the third round of the 2022 draft by the Chicago Cubs and played just seven games in the Arizona Complex League during the season. He followed that up with 35 games in Arizona in 2023, hitting .260 and playing across the diamond in the infield.

The big attribute that stuck out about the California native was his plate discipline. Through 127 at-bats last year, Paciolla struck out just 31 times. He had an on-base percentage of .324 to go along with six doubles and four home runs.

In his first taste of full-season baseball, Paciolla’s eye has continued to get better despite the increase in pitching talent. Entering the series against the Augusta GreenJackets, Paciolla has struck out just 23 times in 85 at-bats.

“Coming out of high school, I didn’t really see a lot of this type of pitching, higher velocity, better breaking balls,” Paciolla said. “That’s been my main focus, pitch selection and discipline because most of the time it’s not your swing, it’s what you’re swinging at.”

To go along with his consistency at the plate, Paciolla has taken the job as the everyday third baseman for the Pelicans. After playing many different infield spots in rookie ball, Paciolla has been mounted at third base, starting 22 of the Birds’ 26 games at the hot corner.

Originally drafted out of Temecula Valley High School in California, Paciolla has adjusted quickly to the east coast and the Myrtle Beach environment.

“It’s fun, we have a great crowd in Myrtle Beach,” Paciolla said. “I love being back on the coast, it’s still nice being by the beach.”

For high school draft picks making the jump to full-season baseball, the adjustment to the fans and bigger ballparks can take a while to get used to. Paciolla had never played in front of the abundance of fans that Pelicans Ballpark holds, but he’s adapted quickly to the professional surroundings.

“I’ve handled it pretty well,” Paciolla said. “When I’m on the field, I feel like I’m so focused that I don’t even recognize the fans. Sometimes I like to watch the in-between innings games because it’s pretty fun but it’s pretty much the same game, same everything there’s just more fans watching.”

As his first experience of full-season baseball continues, Paciolla will work on maturing and gaining more experience with the talent around him.

“At the end of the day, the game is the best teacher.”