RADIO
James Paxton 2021 Fantasy Outlook: Injury Risk With Strikeout Appeal
4 years agoAfter two years in the Bronx, left-handed starting pitcher James Paxton is returning to the Seattle Mariners after spending the first six seasons of his career in the Pacific Northwest. In eight big-league seasons, the 32-year-old has a 3.58 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings in 753 1/3 innings (136 starts). But the Canadian southpaw had a rough 6.64 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 28.9 percent strikeout rate and 7.8 percent walk rate in only five starts (20 1/3 frames) and dealt with a forearm injury in 2020 with the Yankees. There's plenty of risk with Paxton -- he's never made more than 29 starts or thrown more than 160 innings in a single season -- but he should have a rotation spot locked down if he's healthy in Seattle. He's gotten in some simulated work during Spring Training and made his Cactus League debut on March 21 against the Brewers. He struck out eight batters while walking a pair over 4 1/3 innings in that outing. As of now, "The Big Maple" is healthy and looks ready to rock for Opening Day. At a current ADP of 241--which has crept up over the last few weeks--Paxton isn't a bad low-risk investment in the late rounds of deep mixed leagues, mainly because of his career strikeout rate of over 25 percent.
