Detroit Tigers: Get to know Isaac Paredes

In 2017, the Detroit Tigers acquired IF Isaac Paredes from the Chicago Cubs along with Jeimer Candelario in exchange for Alex Avila and Justin Wilson. 

Isaac Paredes was signed out of Mexico in 2015 by the Cubs before being traded to the Detroit Tigers in 2017 at the deadline.  Since then, Paredes has climbed his way up the prospect rankings currently sitting at number 93 in MLB.com’s top 100 prospects list.

While, at first, it seemed like Candelario was going to be the main piece of that deal, it is Paredes who has made bigger strides over the past season and a half.  He has risen through not only the MLB Prospect rankings, but the Detroit Tigers’ list, as well.  He was not highly ranked within the Tigers’ system when he came over and was ranked just 13th in last years’ rankings.

Last year with Lakeland, Paredes showed some power with 12 home runs and rightfully received a call up to Double-A Erie after 84 games.  From there he batted .321 down the stretch with 3 homers in 39 games.  Along with his good average and pop that he showed in 2018, he also displayed above-average plate discipline with a 10.2 BB% and 15.1 K%.

With Double-A Erie in 2019, he has continued this plate discipline with a 10% walk rate and an 11.1% strikeout rate.  However, his hitting numbers have been down a bit, batting .255 and he has dipped in power as well with only 1 homer through 36 games. The season is still young, though, so the 20-year-old should be fine.

I don’t expect him to ever be a huge power threat at the big league level, either.  I project him as a .280-.300 avg hitter with 12-18 homers per year and an everyday spot in the infield open for him.

The future is bright for this young star.  At 20 years old and in Double-A, Paredes is on the fast track to the show and there really is no rush for him to get there anytime soon.  The Tigers might as well just wait the waters with him in Double-A for as long as they can and see if he taps into any more power before calling him up.

I expect Paredes to spend the year in Double-A and get a call up to the Tigers in September to get his feet in the water.  If he plays well enough this summer, however, we could possibly see him up earlier and possibly even as an everyday infielder by next year if the Tigers’ offense continues its struggles.