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Yankees James Paxton: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

ByManny Gómez|
NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 21: James Paxton #65 of the Seattle Mariners in action against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on June 21, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Yankees defeated the Mariners 4-3. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 21: James Paxton #65 of the Seattle Mariners in action against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on June 21, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Yankees defeated the Mariners 4-3. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
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Yankees
SEATTLE, WA – JULY 30: James Paxton #65 of the Seattle Mariners delivers a pitch against the Houston Astros in the second inning at Safeco Field on July 30, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. The Seattle Mariners beat the Houston Astros 2-0. (Photo by Lindsey Wasson/Getty Images)

On Monday the Hot Stove went into full swing with the New York Yankees landing James Paxton from the Seattle Mariners for prospects.

With teams like the Cleveland Indians announcing that top flight players are available to be traded, the Mariners dealing James Paxton to the Yankees for three prospects looks to be the first of many trades to come this offseason. The Yankees themselves have said that they’re not done, according to Jon Morosi:


New York City has mixed feelings about the trade. Previous trades for players like Sonny Gray (NYY: 4.51 ERA / 4.40 FIP), Kevin Brown (NYY: 4.95 ERA 3.88 FIP), Jeff Weaver (NYY: 5.35 ERA / 4.24 FIP), and more have come back to burn the Yankees in the past. So, the excitement level, while it is there, is being met with a slight touch of skepticism.

In the interest of putting some Yankees fans at ease, let’s take a closer look at J “The Big Maple.”

The Good:

James Paxton is a strike out machine. In fact, among pitchers with a minimum of 150 IP, Paxton (11.68 K/9) ranks third in the AL in K/9% behind Gerrit Cole (12.40 K/9) and Justin Verlander (12.20 K/9).

It gets better.

According to Katie Sharp:


But wiat, there’s more!


Paxton was so good at missing bats, that in 160.1 IP, “The Big Maple” still managed to strikeout 200+ batters in 2018. Paxton will fit right in to a pitching staff already stacked with strikeout pitchers. In 2018, the Yankees ranked 2nd in MLB in K’s (1634), K/9 (10.1).

With Paxton in the mix, the Yankees look to take the bats out of the hands of more hitters in 2019.

It’s not all roses and unicorns, however. Let’s take a look at the bad.

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