New York Yankees should let James Paxton start Opening Day
By Kyle Cardoza
The New York Yankees haven’t dodged a major bullet just yet in Luis Severino’s injury. Nevertheless, the coaching staff still needs to dub an Opening Day starter. James Paxton should be the guy.
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone is in the midst of an important decision – choosing the team’s Opening Day starter. While Luis Severino continues to recover from a minor shoulder injury, CC Sabathia looks to be placed on the injured last as the season begins.
Meanwhile, James Paxton has shown thus far that he’s capable of leading the rotation in their absence. And it shouldn’t be a surprise if “The Big Maple” throws the club’s first pitch in the regular season. In fact, maybe that’s exactly what Boone should do.
The southpaw has had three solid outings in Spring Training, allowing just one earned run in 7 1/3 innings. In that span, he registered 10 strikeouts, which isn’t shocking either.
He seems the most qualified for the privilege, despite it being his first season in New York. The 30-year-old enjoyed his first complete season in 2018, tossing more than 160 innings for the first time in his career.
Paxton’s durability paid off. He accumulated more than 200 strikeouts and posted his lowest career WHIP since he was a rookie in 2013. Of course, he didn’t earn any votes in the Cy Young race nor did he claim an All-Star spot, so fans may question how elite he truly is.
Numbers don’t lie. Among pitchers that threw 160 innings, Paxton ranked pretty high in some of the glamour categories, primarily strikeouts-per-nine-innings and strikeout-to-walk ratio. He ranked fourth and ninth in those categories, respectively.
But the new Yankees pitcher has to focus on pitching at least 160 innings in the upcoming season. While Boone surely would enjoy Paxton toss another no-hitter, fans would rather see consistency across an entire year, especially as the team’s second-best starter.
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Frankly, it doesn’t make a major difference New York whether Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka or J.A. Happ are on the mound Opening Day. The Yankees posted a winning record in April in every year since their last World Series title except one – 2016.
As the Yankees attempt to capture their first pennant in 10 seasons, the rotation’s health is important because it lacks depth. Boone has a plethora of options in the organization. Yet, he cannot rush some pitchers’ development.
Therefore, Boone’s most important decisions this season will likely revolve around how he uses his bullpen. New York relievers threw the second-most innings of any team in the league in 2018, behind Tampa Bay’s crew of openers.
Starters will need to be productive, but the Yankees aren’t worried if they cannot qualify for quality starts in every outing. Of course, they also cannot rely on the pen to bail out starters on a daily basis.
Next. Should New York use an opener?. dark
Far more important roles emerge throughout the year. Thus, New York can let Paxton bask in the honor of being a Yankee for the first time in his career and then focus primarily on the 161 games that follow.