San Diego Padres pitcher Cole Paplham was on the receiving end of a 102-mph line drive to the head on Sunday in a spring training game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The incident occurred in the bottom of the eighth inning. Paplham threw a pitch to Dodgers infielder Aaron Bracho on a 2-0 count. Bracho returned the pitch directly to Paplham. He went down for several minutes before he walked to a golf cart and took off the field.
Padres manager Mike Shildt said Paplham “seemed alert” as he tried to shake off the scary incident.
“Our prayers are with him,” Shildt said, via MLB.com. “He was conscious, seemed alert, knew where he was. But clearly a scary thing. … He was clearly in some pain, and obviously when something like that happens, a little bit rattled.”
Paplham has been in the Padres’ minor league system since 2023. He played collegiate ball at the University of New Orleans and then participated in the MLB Draft League for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.
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He has moved around from Single-A to Double-A levels of minor league baseball. He had a 3.82 ERA and 11 strikeouts in eight appearances in 2024.
Paplham’s incident came days after Dodgers pitcher Bobby Miller was struck in the face by a line drive.
Miller is still in concussion protocol as he recovers from the incident.
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