Paredes parks a pair for South Bend

Considering his age and relative lack of professional experience, what Isaac Paredes is doing in his first full season as a professional is pretty extraordinary -- and exciting. 
The 18-year-old homered twice in the same game for the first time in his career and matched his season high with four RBIs on Friday as Class A South Bend rolled past Dayton, 11-4, at Fifth Third Field.

Gameday box score
The Cubs' 18th-ranked prospect has driven in multiple runs in four of his last 10 games, totaling 12 during that span. After homering once in 50 games across two Minor League levels in 2016, he's gone deep seven times this season, with five coming since the beginning of June.
"We knew he'd be OK as far as his hitting goes because he was a decent hitter from the time he came up from amateur baseball to Rookie ball," Cubs infield coordinator Jose Flores told the Chicago Tribune recently. "He showed great flashes this spring regarding his offense."
Paredes flied out to right in the first inning to strand a pair of runners. He opened the scoring in the fourth with a leadoff homer to left-center field, then went the same way in the fifth for a three-run shot. Paredes was hit by a pitch and scored a run in the seventh and popped to second to end the eighth.

The shortstop's strong offensive showing continued his steady improvement in his second professional season. Signed in July 2015, Paredes produced a .296/.350/.425 slash line in 50 games in the Rookie-level Arizona League and with South Bend as a 17-year-old last season. The Hermosillo, Mexico, native batted .246 with 13 extra-base hits and 25 RBIs in 47 games in April and May but is hitting .289 with five homers, eight doubles and 18 RBIs in 26 contests since June 1. 

Vimael Machin went 3-for-5 with a homer in his second straight three-RBI game for South Bend, which collected 15 hits and scored in each of the final six innings.
Manuel Rondon (9-2) moved into a second-place tie in the Midwest League with his ninth win after allowing three runs on four hits and two walks with four strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.
Malik Collymore hit his first homer of the year for Dayton, which has dropped four straight.