James Paxton arrived in Arizona this week with lofty expectations.
The 23-year-old from Ladner reported to the Seattle Mariners spring training facility in Peoria as the Major League Baseball club's fourth best prospect, according to Baseball America.
The 6-foot-4 220-pound south-paw pitcher is coming off an impressive first pro season that earned him the opportunity to pitch for the World Team in the Futures Games, that showcases MLB's top up-and-coming players during all-star weekend.
The 2010 fourth-round draft pick checks in as the third-best pitcher for the Mariners minor league organization and the second best left-handed hurler, also ranking Paxton as having the best curveball in the Ms' system.
"Paxton is the rare power lefthander who combines high strikeout totals with above-average groundball rates," Baseball America's Conor Glassey said in the prospect breakdown. "His fastball sits at 91-95 mph and peaks at 98. He can pitch up in the zone effectively but has just as much faith in his two-seam fastball as he does his four-seamer. He can use his plus 76-79 mph curveball to get ahead in counts or put away hitters. His changeup made a lot of progress after he switched to a circle grip in 2011, and should be at least solid in the future."
The Delta secondary school graduate made 17 starts last season between low A Clinton and double-A Jackson. Paxton finished with a 6-3 record while registering a 2.37 ERA while holding opposing batters to a .204 average. He also struck out 131 batters, while only issuing 43 walks in 95 innings.
"Paxton has a number two starter ceiling," Glassey detailed. "He could reach Seattle at some point in 2012."
