Pitchers and catchers report tomorrow to Spring Training, though many have already arrived in Tampa to begin the quest for #28. Fans are especially looking forward to getting a glimpse of James Paxton, who was traded to the Yankees in the offseason from the Mariners, where he had an exciting season in ’18.
On paper the Yankees upgraded the starting rotation with the addition of James Paxton and now fans will see on the field just what Paxton brings to the club. He arrives with high expectations and says he has the highest expectation of himself. Paxton said, in an interview with MLB’s Bryan Hoch:
“I expect myself to win. I expect the best out of myself. I’m looking forward to being a part of such a fantastic team.”
Paxton has elite fastball velocity and an elite K%. brooksbaseball.netdescribes Paxton’s four-seamer and cutter as “blazing fast” at 96 mph and according to Fangraphs, he struck out 11.68/9 in ’18 for a 32.3 K%.
Paxton may have durability issues. He’s never pitched more than 161 innings in a season. However, fantraxhq.com writes that:
“fewer starters overall are giving you good innings in bulk. Just 13 starters gave you 200-plus innings in 2018 compared to 28 as recently as 2015.”
After the trade, Paxton participated in a conference call with MLB reporters, and according to Lindsey Adler of The Athletic:
Paxton said that none of his injuries have been reoccurring and he’s made sure to learn how to keep them from happening again.
— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) November 20, 2018
Healthy, Paxton is an up and coming ace with a reputation for winning. Yankee fans are eager to see him put to the test in the toughest division in the league, the American League East.
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