As pitchers and catchers start to report to Spring Training, some of us writers realize we're in need of a little warm-up ourselves. What better way to kick off the 2017 season than a Valentine's Day GIF Breakdown of one of our favorite starting pitchers? I'm here to warm that beautiful baseball heart of yours on this special day with 19 HD GIFs of quality James Paxton material. Oh baby, you shouldn't have...
Being a Mariners fan, I've had a crush on Paxton for a couple years now. What's not to like? He's a tall (6'4") well-built (220 lbs.) power lefty that touches 99mph regularly with a seemingly free-and-easy delivery. He's also adjusted to a new arm slot he picked up in AAA last year that's closer to a 3/4 release than his previous over-the-top method of delivery. This change in arm slot added both velocity as well as new movement to his existing pitch types and it's been giving hitters fits. In short, what I'm trying to say is, if you aren't already infatuated with at least the potential of Paxton's 2017, I'm here to fix that.
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