With injuries littering the New York Yankees starting pitching rotation, their healthy options needed to reach their potential and 2019.
Players like James Paxton and J.A. Happ Have struggled to impress after receiving a contract extensions after the 2018 season. Both have ERAs over 4.00 and are struggling to find their groove.
Lefty pitcher James Paxton played exceptionally well against the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night. To be playing, he dominated. He struck out seven batters while walking just one giving up one hit over 6 1/3 innings.
Paxton threw 108 total pitches on the night, more than usual for the starting option. However, it was a necessary performance to get him back on track. While it was just the Baltimore Orioles, Paxton has struggled this season mightily with a 4.61 ERA over 19 games. He is currently six-and-six on the season and has allowed 18 home runs while striking out 123 batters.
This is his first season with the ERA over 4.00, which is concerning considering the entire Yankees starting rotation has been wayward. With Ace Luis Severino spending the whole season on the injured list up to this point, the remaining starters were forced to compensate for his loss.
Now, with CC Sabathia on the injured list and Masahiro Tanaka struggling as well, it is essential that Paxton elevates his game to help the Yankees retain the top spot in the AL East.
Paxton’s most frequent pitches are his fastball and knuckle-curve. Separated by 14 mph, they are used to keep the opposing batter guessing with their timing. This season has seen those pitches drop off a bit which has it directly affected his ERA.
“Guys can kind of cover both of those pitches with the same bat speed,†Paxton said of his fastball and cutter combination. “They can kinda take my fastball and hit it away, or they can catch it a bit more out front with the cutter. Throwing a curveball that comes in at 80 to 83 just makes them respect a different pitch speed so they have the thought in the back of their mind that, ‘Oh, this might be slow,’ which can make them late on my fastball.â€
While it could be the difference in pitch speed, it seems as if the revolving door at catcher has affected his game. Calling the wrong pitches and the inconsistencies at the position have hurt the Yankees, despite having the best record in baseball.