The Padres Front Office is looking to add another starting pitcher according to Bill Center of the San Diego Union Tribune. One of the pitchers reportedly connected to the Padres is left-handed starter Paul Maholm. Maholm could take some of the pressure off the Padres very young and talented pitching staff. He also could take pressure and some of the work load off Clayton Richard and Dustin Moseley, who are both returning from surgery. More importantly, he’d add much-needed veteran leadership at an affordable price. If the Padres were to sign him, he would probably move ahead of both Moseley and Richard on the depth chart.
Maholm, the 6′-2″, 215 lb, 30-year-old lefty, was a first-round draft pick (eighth overall) by the Pirates in 2003. Over the years, he has sported impressive stats and racked up innings pitched, which have never fallen under 160. Maholm has put up these numbers in a much more hitter-friendly environment and division. I believe he would do very well in PETCO Park.
He has a career 4.36 ERA, but he really came on strong last year posting a very impressive 3.66 ERA in 162.1 IP. Although, his lack of run support resulted in a 6-14 record. It should be noted he posted a career-best .262 batting average against. Maholm has a career 4.36 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and .283 BAA.
Scouting report: Maholm is somewhat deceptive, throwing from a high three-quarter arm delivery. He’s a groundball pitcher. He is hard to run on, as well. He throws a fastball (low 90s), solid slider, slow curvball and change-up, which is the closest to a plus pitch in his arsenal. Maholm is not a power pitcher and relies on his exceptional command, deep repertoire, deception and feel for pitching to be effective. He is a workhorse who’s known as a strong competitor and leader. He doesn’t have a plus pitch per se, and doesn’t miss as many bats as you would like from a front-of-the-rotation starter, which limits him to a solid middle-of-the-rotation pitcher. Right-handed bats can give him trouble.
Do the Padres need more pitching depth with the loss of Mat Latos? I believe Maholm would fair as well, or better than Jon Garland and Aaron Harang did coming into PETCO Park.