Could tonight be the last start of the year for Chris Paddack?

It’s worth asking the question: Could tonight be Chris Paddack’s final start of the year?

Paddack, who bounced back against the Giants after a rough month, seems to want to keep throwing.

Of course, he’s going to say the right thing and do whatever the team wants. “If I could go out and pitch every day, I would, but the reality is they have some standards and rules that they told me at the beginning of the year that they were going to hold to. Whenever that time comes, I’ll accept it.”

The reality is he doesn’t have much time left. He hasn’t thrown more than 90 innings since at least 2014.

Before he was drafted.

For Padre fans, it represents a bit of cognitive dissonance. Here’s a rookie that’s shown flashes of brilliance. He’s the best young pitcher we’ve seen since Jake Peavy, and has the stuff to deliver the 1st no hitter in team history. He could also be a playoff rotation guy.

At the same time, should the team save some of those bullets since they’re obviously not in contention? A year that showed promise will come to an all too familiar end soon. Is it time to cut him off and gear up for a no limits 2020?

It’ll be interesting to see, but I can’t imagine he’ll be throwing much longer.