Hyped Rookie James Paxton Is Final Piece to Mariners' Elite Rotation Puzzle

Close your eyes and picture this: A young pitcher arrives in the big leagues with the Seattle Mariners, trailing expectations like the tail of a comet, and proceeds to post a 1.75 ERA in his first six starts, setting a club record.

No, not Felix Hernandez. Open your eyes. We're talking about the guy who bested King Felix's first-six-games-with-Seattle ERA mark: 25-year-old left-hander James Paxton.

As quickly as his star rose, though, it looked like Paxton's meteoric ascent was doomed to fizzle. 

After those half-dozen dominant outings—which spanned the end of the 2013 season and the beginning of 2014—Paxton landed on the 15-day disabled list April 9 with a shoulder strain.

In June, he was moved to the 60-day DL, and it appeared his season might be over. Just another promising young arm tossed on the injury scrap heap.

Flash forward a few months, and Paxton is suddenly the most surprising contributor on baseball's most surprising contender.

In six starts since returning from the DL August 2, Paxton has allowed seven earned runs in 35 innings, good for a 1.80 ERA.

His most recent outing, Sept. 2 against the division-rival Oakland A's, was his most impressive to date.

Facing MLB's highest-scoring offense on the road, Paxton twirled 7.2 innings of four-hit, two-run ball, and he didn't allow a runner to advance past first base until the eighth.

Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

"He's our glue," Seattle skipper Lloyd McClendon told MLB.com's Greg Johns. "He's good. This young man has greatness written all over him."

Added third baseman Kyle Seager:

"

He's been phenomenal. You see the way he was working [against Oakland], just working fast, throwing strikes, gets a lot of ground balls. He obviously has great stuff, but there's a different feel with it. He goes right at it, attacks hitters. He's pretty special. 

"

Paxton is part of the Mariners' much-hyped Big Three, a trio of highly regarded pitching prospects that also includes Taijuan Walker and Danny Hultzen.

Walker, who has battled injuries of his own, wobbled through three big league starts—coughing up 13 walks in 15 innings pitched—and is currently in the Mariners' bullpen. Hultzen had shoulder surgery last October and hasn't pitched since. 

With Paxton's ailment, the Big Three was tumbling toward an even bigger collapse.

Now Paxton is delivering on some of that heralded potential. As Jerry Brewer of The Seattle Times puts it:

"The Big Three has been reduced to Paxton and two get-well-soon wishes. But their tale is far from complete. With Paxton leading the way now, there’s still hope."

As for the M's, they're brimming with hope.

Entering play Friday, the Mariners stand at 76-63. They're eight games out and in third place in the stacked American League West, but they trail the Detroit Tigers by just half a game for the second wild card.

If they cap off this improbable campaign with a postseason berth, it'll be largely on the strength of their elite rotation.

Leon Halip/Getty Images

Hernandez (2.18 ERA, 0.898 WHIP, 209 SO, 206 IP) is the undisputed ace. But Hisashi Iwakuma (2.90 ERA, 0.972 WHIP, 127 SO, 155.1 IP) and Chris Young (3.46 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 94 SO, 151 IP) have rounded out a stellar triumvirate. 

Now, with the addition of Paxton, the Mariners have arguably the most formidable starting corps in baseball. 

“[Paxton] can keep a roll going for us,” McClendon said, per The Seattle Times' Jason Jenks. “If you look at our rotation throughout the year, the guy in the five hole has not been very successful. It’s been patchwork. This guy can patch it, and it doesn’t come loose.”

As Seattle looks to steer its ship into October, that's the right kind of guy to have aboard.

All statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.