Good news for the Yankees: James Paxton has arrived
By Manny Gómez
James Paxton’s tenure with the New York Yankees started off rocky. Over his last six starts, however, he’s looking like the difference-maker they’ve always wanted.
When the New York Yankees announced that they had acquired James Paxton from the Seattle Mariners prior to the 2019 MLB season, the team thought they had finally found their ace. In the six years prior, while with the M’s, Paxton had pitched to a 3.42 ERA and 1.187 WHIP while striking out 617 batters over 582.1 IP.
In 2018, “The Big Maple” reached the 200 SO milestone for the first time in his career, striking out 208 hitters over 160.1 innings of work. This made the 30-year-old veteran southpaw an attractive option for the Yanks.
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Initially, in his first eight starts in New York, Paxton delivered the goods, striking out 59 hitters over 41.2 innings of work and pitching to a 2.81 ERA. Then, the bottom fell out.
Over his next 10 starts, Paxton pitched to an atrocious 6.38 ERA and lost seven of 10 starts. In this time, Paxton also spent some time on the IL with left knee inflammation.
What’s more, in this same time span, Pax gained a reputation for allowing far too many first-inning runs. In fact, of the 63 runs scored on Paxton this season, 27 — or 43% — of them have come in the first inning.
In his last seven starts, however, James Paxton looks to be at the top of his game, pitching to a 7-0 record with a 2.98 ERA. His fWAR (1.3), according to FanGraphs, places him fifth in MLB in this time period. What’s more, his 0.94 WHIP ranks in the top 10 in MLB over his last seven starts as well.
The most impressive stat, and perhaps even most telling, is his swing strike percentage (SwStr%). In his last seven starts, Paxton has a 15.4 SwStr%, placing him behind only Jacob deGrom, Clayton Kershaw, Lucas Giolito, and Verlander.
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If Paxton can sustain this level of performance, the New York Yankees would be right in their initial feelings when they acquired him. They may have finally found their ace.