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Intro:  Nice to be -2 games back of one team, rather than five.  You only need Toronto to have a bad week.  Which they absolutely will.

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1.  In followup interviews, Jack Zduriencik stated ... um, clearly implied, at the least ... that Taijuan, K-Pax and D.J. Peterson "are our future."

This show-stopping little cliche' was not invented by Zduriencik.  But is Dr. D the only one who chokes on this cliche'?  

What are the 25 guys on the active roster, for example?  And are there no drafts coming up?   There is no international scouting, no free agent market?  There are no other minor leaguers, than those three?  etc.

And wouldn't you have said that Addison Russell and Yoenis Cespedes "were the A's future"?

Besides that:  don't two out of three minor leaguers get hurt or fail?  How can three bushers "be your future"?

But.  Okay.  The Mariners love K-Pax.  I'm wit' dem.

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2.  Paxton's release point was just about 7' off the ground Saturday.   If you just joined us, "throwing downhill" takes the ball off the plane of the hitter's bat.

It also produces garbage swings when your knuckle curve starts at the same point...

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2a.  And his fastball swerved 10" up into the sky as the batters swung.

8-12 inches of rise for a lefty, I'm pretty sure that's a first for me.   It's the Stephen Pryor / Charlie Sheen effect, but Paxton has a whale of a lot of things going for him that those two didn't.

As a completely separate issue, Paxton's cut fastball also had a vicious shape to it.

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2b.  It's not often you see a manager pull a starter after 80 pitches, when his velocity is trending up as you yank him.

Tell me when's the last time you saw this data on this type of chart.

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3.  Here are all the left hand pitchers in the AL who have plus velocity .... Velocity that is more than 0.5 MPH above the league average (for both RH and LH):

The 94.7 MPH was Paxton's career average before Saturday, when it was 96.2 according to Brooks.*  He topped out at 99 MPH.

Here's an expanded table, with all AL left hand starters who are AT ALL above the 91.6 MPH American League average fastball ... remember, LH pitchers are effectively +2 MPH versus RH pitchers, so 89.6 would be more like average for lefties.  

But ho-kay:

Is it even possible* for a lefty to throw hard, and not be effective?  Given any type of polish whatsoever?

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4.  Paxton has "easy" velocity.  He "sits" 95 MPH, but can reach back for 98 MPH.  Nooooo problem.

I flat enjoy watching him throw the ball.  Aesthetically, he's the anti-Joe Saunders...  Joe has a lot more money and looks than Dr. D does.  :- )   It doesn't make him super fun to watch.

K-Pax is already one of my ten fave M's ever.

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5.  Spec pointed out, in his excellent series, that Austin Jackson costs less than Jacoby Ellsbury.  This point is worth savoring, however gratuitous in this specific post.

Jackson's "speed index" is NOT down from his earlier days, though his UZR is.  Ellsbury's UZR dropped -15 runs this year, when he changed parks.  Bet me? that Jackson's defensive metrics in Safeco's CF will be plus again?

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6.  The first thing Ken Griffey Jr. brought up, when he visited the TV crew a coupla months ago:  "Man, we got some young pitching coming back soon for the stretch run."  Or very similar.

James Paxton is ours and you can't have him.

Mwahaha,

Dr D