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He had four starts, each against a winning ballclub, and of them 3 playoff teams (Tampa Bay, St. Louis, Detroit, Kansas City). He dominated all but Detroit, turning in an acceptable performance there. Compare with Walker's 3 starts - two against lowly Houston. However, Houston by September was no slouch, and his finale included 15 swinging strikes in 5 innings (!) Not bad at all for a kid of 20, throwing his third start - against a team that has already faced him once, no less.
Now, I suppose Paxton's 4.45 AAA ERA should have me more concerned. But - if I had to choose between a stellar season in Tacoma or a finish like he had for Seattle, I think I'll take the finish. Especially after I saw him with my own eyes. Kinda like the difference between a polished Doug Baldwin and a rougher Jerome Kearse, I suppose. One suggests solidity, the other looks like he could be a difference maker, a game changer. Paxton hasn't even had the AAA success a Erasmo Ramirez has had (3.72 ERA in 77 innings in 2012, 3.09 in 43 innings in 2013) - or in some ways the Major league success over the course of two seasons (6-6 and a 4.25 ERA in 126 innings - solid work while dealing with injury). But K-Pax is the guy teams want.
After reading Doc's post, and Dave's, I simply cannot envision why anybody looking to build a contender over the next few seasons would trade either of these kids. In particular, I can't imagine it from a team that, when it hired its current GM, explained that they saw the errors of their ways and would now "build the right way". We're still building here, and as such, trading prime prospects for immediate success - well, that's the blueprint of the previous GM's regime failure, the one we determined to move away from. Further, I can't see a team that has already traded for can't miss prospects like Smoak and Montero, deciding it likes some other teams prospects better.
I think Jack likes what he has here. I don't even see us trading Franklin until something comes along that makes us all say "yeah, now that REALLY makes sense."
It's exciting to think these M's have both these kids in their stable (and Mauer, and Ramirez, and perhaps Hultzen), and Nick Franklin, and are by most accounts flush with cash besides. The kids they introduced into the lineup last season - Miller, Franklin, and Zunino, are garnering glowing ZIPS predictions as well.
BTW, I just read the A's are looking to make Jaso their primary DH. So the trade that apparently made the M's blogosphere throw their hands up in utter disgust came down to a left handed DH for a right handed DH.