Former ‘Big 3’ member James Paxton finally provided Mariners with results in 2016
Oct 9, 2016, 9:34 PM
The Big Three was a term commonly used around the Mariners organization earlier this decade, a reference to a trio of pitching prospects – Danny Hultzen, Taijuan Walker and James Paxton – with huge potential.
For a long time, the question was whether that potential would be realized. Hultzen unfortunately never got the chance, as a series of injuries caused him to retire over the summer without ever appearing in an MLB game. The good news, though, is that in the case of one of the two remaining players of that group, the team finally has some consistently positive results to point to.
That player would be Paxton, the oldest of the bunch (he’ll turn 28 next month), and, at least for now, the most accomplished. The left-hander from British Columbia started 2016 in the minors, but he made a mechanical adjustment that gave him extra zip on his fastball and was back in Seattle before too long. He became one of the Mariners’ more reliable rotation options, too, positing a 3.79 ERA and 10 quality starts in 20 outings.
Both Seattle manager Scott Servais and general manager Jerry Dipoto have been vocal since the season ended about the strides Paxton made.
“I think what Pax did probably flies under the radar because his season was split between Triple-A and the big leagues,” Dipoto told “Danny, Dave and Moore” last week, “but very, very encouraged by the progress that James made. I thought he had a very solid year and quite excited to see what he does in ’17.”
As for Servais, he said on “Brock and Salk” that he was happy to see Paxton get through the year with minimal injury woes, the only significant one being a fingernail issue that resulted in a short stint on the disabled list.
“I thought Paxton had a really good year,” Servais said. “It’s the first time he’s pitched an entire year. Definitely a step in the right direction there. He’s one of the guys that when I gave him the ball and he went out there I was very comfortable he was going to give us a good outing.”
The jury is still out on Walker, though, who was plagued by tendinitis in his right foot and outside of April failed to put together a prolonged stretch of strong starts.
“Taijuan was all over the board. There were some injuries in play there,” Servais said. “To his credit, he did not just punt the season. He tried to make some big adjustments. (Pitching coach) Mel Stottylemyre did a great job with him.”
Those adjustments did result in a few eye-opening moments in the final month, but Servais seemed just as impressed by the attitude Walker displayed after coming off the DL and returning from some time in Triple-A.
“I really felt he was engaged, he was into it down the stretch, I thought he competed very well, which were all great signs. Something we didn’t see through May and June with him. Still a lot of work to do. … The thing that I’m excited about, he did compete much, much better as the season went on.”
