It hasn’t been the best start with the New York Yankees for James Paxton, and now we might have a reason why.
James Paxton’s first start as a New York Yankee was dominant, but his last two starts against Baltimore and Houston were mediocre. He thinks he figured out why.
Talking to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch, Paxton said team advisor Carlos Beltran noticed a small tell which had him tipping his pitches when a runner was on second base.
James Paxton said he was tipping pitches to runners at second base in the Houston start. Carlos Beltran approached him in the food room with video evidence, and Paxton is working on a fix.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) April 14, 2019
Paxton could not escape the fifth inning in that start while allowing five earned runs on eight hits and three walks. In his last two starts, he’s combined to go 9.1 innings allowing nine earned runs in that span.
This is not the first time we’ve heard a Yankee pitcher has been tipping his pitches over the course of the last year. Towards the end of 2018, Yankees ace Luis Severino was reportedly tipping some of his pitches. How can you not forget the video of the Boston Red Sox in the ALDS predicting the pitch Severino was going to throw before the pitch was even delivered from the dugout?
The Yankees are going to need Paxton to work out the kinks because they need him to be ace-like, or as close to an ace as possible with Severino out until at least late June/early July. He can’t keep going out there giving New York five innings a night because sooner or later the bullpen will be completely worn down.
Paxton’s next start has yet to be announced, but the expectation is it should come against the defending World Champion Boston Red Sox. It would be his first start against Boston as a Yankee and would be the perfect time to fix that tell.
