James Paxton (baseball)

James Paxton
Paxton with the Seattle Mariners
Seattle Mariners – No. 65
Pitcher
Born: (1988-11-06) November 6, 1988 Richmond, British Columbia
Bats: Left Throws: Left
MLB debut
September 7, 2013, for the Seattle Mariners
MLB statistics (through 2016 season)
Win–loss record	18–15
Earned run average	3.43
Strikeouts	253
WHIP	1.28
Teams
Seattle Mariners (2013–present)

James Alston Paxton (born November 6, 1988) is a Canadian professional baseball pitcher for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the Kentucky Wildcats.

Amateur career

North Delta Blue Jays

Paxton attended Delta Secondary School in Ladner, British Columbia. He played for the North Delta Blue Jays of the British Columbia Premier Baseball League (PBL) and for Team Canada at the Junior National level. In his junior year Paxton won 10 games and had a 1.51 earned run average (ERA) to go along with 100 strikeouts in 78 innings pitched. This led to him being named the top pitcher of the PBL and a first-team All-Star. After starting his senior year injured, Paxton finished the year with a 7–1 win–loss record and 65 strikeouts and 32 walks in 50 innings pitched.^[1]

Both years Paxton and the Blue Jays won the league title and the prestigious B.C.'s Best Tournament.

University of Kentucky

After graduating high school in 2006, Paxton attended the University of Kentucky, where he played college baseball for the Kentucky Wildcats baseball team, in the Southeastern Conference.^[1] As a true freshman Paxton led the Wildcats in appearances with 25 and had a 2–0 record in relief with one save.^[1]

In 2008 as a sophomore, Paxton worked his way into the starting rotation midway through the season and earned 11 starts while making 17 appearances. He finished the year 4–2 with a 2.92 ERA.^[1] That same year Paxton pitched a complete-game shutout over Ole Miss to win the SEC Tournament earning him SEC Pitcher of the Week.^[1] Due to injury Paxton did not participate in the NCAA Tournament.^[1]

That summer Paxton was invited to play collegiate summer baseball in the Alaska Baseball League where he pitched in four games with three starts finishing with a 1–0 record and a 2.25 ERA in 16 innings. He struck out 12 batters and allowed opponents to hit just .179 against him.^[1]

Paxton started 13 games in 2009, finishing 5–3 with 115 strikeouts (5th best in school history) in  78 ¹⁄₃ innings. Paxton drew attention of Major League Baseball scouts as he was considered as a possible first round draft pick.^[1]

Paxton was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the first round (37th overall) of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft. However, Paxton did not sign with the Blue Jays opting to return to Kentucky for his senior season. The NCAA ruled him ineligible stemming from his contact with agent Scott Boras.^[2]

Every year Paxton was named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll and held a 3.3 GPA heading into his senior year as an Accounting Major.^[1]

Professional career

After being ineligible to return to Kentucky, Paxton signed with the Grand Prairie AirHogs in the independent American Association in 2010.^[3][4] There he went 1–2 with a 4.08 ERA and striking out 18 batters in  17 ²⁄₃ innings.

Seattle Mariners

In June 2010, Paxton was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the fourth round of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft. He signed with the Mariners on March 4, 2011.^[5]

In the 2011 season, Paxton finished with a 6–3 win–loss record, 2.37 ERA, 131 strikeouts, and 43 walks, in 95 innings pitched, while allowing an opposing batting average of .215 while playing for Single A Clinton LumberKings and the Double A Jackson Generals.^[6] Paxton, along with Alex Liddi, represented the Mariners at the 2011 All-Star Futures Game.^[7]

Paxton was invited to attend the Mariners' main Spring Training Camp in 2012, but did not make the opening day roster.^[2] He was sent to the Jackson Generals of the Class AA Southern League.

In 2013, Paxton played for the Tacoma Rainiers of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League. With the Mariners' coaching staff, Paxton worked to change in his pitching mechanics to mirror that of Clayton Kershaw, resulting in an improvement in his performance.^[8] On September 3, 2013, he was promoted to the major leagues.^[9] His first major league appearance came on September 7 when he started against the Tampa Bay Rays. He earned the win as the Mariners won 6–2.^[10] Paxton finished with a 3-0 record in 4 starts.

Paxton began the 2014 season in the Mariners rotation but after his first start of the season, he was placed on the disabled list. He would finish appearing in only 13 starts due to an extended stint on the disabled list. His injury woes would continue into the 2015 season as he would appear in only 13 starts for the second consecutive season. Paxton was in competition for a rotation spot in spring training but after posting an ERA of over 9, he was optioned to AAA. He was recalled a few months later after Felix Hernandez landed on the disabled list.

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)