James Paxton has strong chance at Mariners’ rotation

With injuries to two of the top pitchers in their system not named ‘Felix Hernandez,’ the Mariners could use a bit of good news.

That news may come in the form of one James Paxton, the left-handed pitcher, who made his debut in September and put up highly impressive numbers. In four starts, Paxton went 3-0, putting up a 1.50 ERA, striking out 21 and walking only 7, good for a 3.00 K/BB ratio. The 25-year old had spent all of 2013 to that point in Triple-A, working on changes to his delivery to allow him to be more consistent in his delivery. Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune spoke with pitching coach Rick Waits about Paxton shortening up the delivery on his back side.

"‘It allowed for his arm to be on time consistently. That’s the main thing. He’s functionally sound since this happened. The main thing is it just made his off-speed pitches better. It could also increase his velocity, but that wasn’t important. He already had velocity. But the consistency of his off-speed stuff is better."

This spring, James Paxton has pitched in five innings over two innings, and has not allowed a walk or a run while striking out two. ‘Consistency’ could be a key factor in providing a boost to an already-injury-depleted Mariners’ rotation.