
The New York Yankees pitcher James Paxton born James Alston and is thirty years old (November 6, 1988). He was born in Ladner, British Columbia. Because of that, he was given the nickname “The BigMaple”. He previously played for the Seattle Mariners. He played college ball for the Kentucky Wildcats. He was drafted in the fourth round of the 2010 MLB draft by the Mariners and made his MLB debut for them in 2013. On May 8, 2018, Paxton pitched a no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays, becoming the first Canadian Major League pitcher to throw a no-hitter in Canada. Following the 2018 season, Paxton was traded to the New York Yankees.
Previous to attending the University of Kentucky, he went to secondary school in Ladner British Columbia where he played for the Canadian Premier League followed by Team Canada at the Junior level. In his Junior year, he had 10 wins and an ERA of 1.51. After starting his Senior year injured he went on to a 7-1 record. While at the University of Kentucky he pitched a complete game shut out over Ole Miss. While in college, he was named the fifth-best pitcher in school history. He was selected in the draft by the Blue Jays, but he didn’t sign as he wanted to complete his senior year at Kentucky and ended up signing with Seattle.
While pitching for Seattle, In the Pacific Coast League he was promoted to the majors in September of 2013. In his first game, he beat the Tampa Bay Rays and finished the short season 3-0 in four starts. In 2014 he had only
thirteen starts due to extended time on the DL. 2015 would end up the same with continued injuries. 2016 found Pax back in AAA, but an injury to Felix Hernandez got him called back up. In 2017 he won his first three games with an ERA of 0.00. In mid-April, he was named AL player of the week when he had two more wins that were scoreless. But then he was found back on the DL with a sore arm. In July, he was 6-0 but in August, he was back on the DL.
In 2018, before his start against the Minnesota Twins, James Paxton gained national media attention when a bald eagle, which had been participating in a patriotic pre-game ceremony, flew around and landed on Paxton. Paxton, who reacted unusually calmly, later stated, “No, I wasn’t going to run. I figured I’m not going to outrun an eagle, so I might as well see what happens.” On May 2, 2018, against the Oakland Athletics, Paxton struck out a career-high 16 batters, and then on May 18th, he threw his no-hitter.
On November 19, 2018, Paxton was traded to the Yankees. In April, he became the second only to David Cone to strike out 12 batters in two consecutive starts. The tale of two pitchers comes about because when he is healthy, he is usually good, but not good when he isn’t. The other reason is his performance during the 2019 season. The first half of his season could be called mediocre at best. His best outing of the year so far was on July 16 against the Red Sox (8 IP, 0 R, 12 K). Still, had knee soreness yet maintained that is was not a problem.
Previous to the All-Star game Paxton was 0-3 with an ERA of 6.67 in his last six games. Enter New York Yankee pitcher James Paxton 2.0. After the All-Star break, he returned to be one of the best pitchers in either league. The Yankees won his last eleven starts in a row, making him the winningest pitcher in either league during August and September of 2019.
During the 2020 offseason, the Yankees signed Paxton to a new one year $12.5 million contract.  Without knowing that Severino would be injured and miss the season. The Yankees made a wise decision to hold onto Paxton. He will, however, become a free agent following this season regardless if the season is played.
For the 2019 year, he was 15-6 and he brought his ERA down to 3.82 because of his second-half performance. However, late in the season, he complained of back soreness. Just before the start of spring training this year the New York Yankees announced that he had a microscopic lumbar discectomy and had a peridiscal cyst removed, addressing pain that started last season.
He was originally expected to miss the first three or four months of the new season. However with the coming of the coronavirus and his speedy recovery it now appears he will miss no time at all and will be ready when the shortened season starts if it does. Paxton recently said:
“I think I’ve thrown probably 12-14 bullpens,†Paxton said. “It’s (my back) feeling really good. (My) back is a non-issue, I feel totally healthy, so I’ll be ready to go as soon as the season comes about.â€
“I think I’m back to full strength,†Paxton said. “If a season was ready to start tomorrow or if spring training were ready to start tomorrow, I’d be ready to be just like one of the other guys and do all the regular stuff.â€
Other developments affecting the New York Yankee pitching staff is the injury to ace Luis Severino that caused him to have Tommy John surgery and missing the entire 2020 season. Add to that the suspension of last year’s most productive pitcher, Domingo German. With him serving out the last 60 days of his suspension he may not pitch at all in 2020. With those considerations, the Yankees need Paxton in that second or third spot in the rotation to pitch like the pitcher he was during the second half of last season.