Taijuan Walker has struggled so far this season. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports)
SEATTLE — While the recent offseason acquisitions of second baseman Robinson Cano and outfielder Nelson Cruz helped fortify the Mariners’ offense, the emergence of a pair of young arms was deemed this spring as almost as important to Seattle’s chances of making it back to the postseason.
The early returns are not too encouraging.
Rookie starters James Paxton and Taijuan Walker, both of whom have the stuff to be a future No. 1 in just about any rotation, have really struggled out of the gates. Paxton’s first season as a member of the Opening Day roster took another turn for the worse Sunday, when a seven-run third inning ended his afternoon prematurely. The only thing that went Paxton’s way Sunday was his ERA — five of the runs ended up being
unearned, thanks to an error on shortstop Willie Bloomquist — as his 2 2/3-inning performance didn’t overly affect his season statistics.
The not-yet-dynamic duo of Paxton and Walker has a combined 0-4 record and 9.27 ERA, leaving plenty of questions about how major league-ready they are.
Walker, 22, will get another chance Tuesday, and there’s reason to believe he’s due for a good outing. The Houston Astros, Tuesday’s opponent, have already faced Walker four times in his young career as a late-season call-up, and he has a 3-0 record and 2.91 ERA to show for it. Against all other opponents, Walker has an 0-5 record and 5.44 ERA.
That Walker has had some early struggles isn’t all that surprising, despite a breakout spring that showed he might be ready for a full season at the major league level. Seattle’s top prospect, Walker is still a few years away from his prime and will probably have some lessons to learn on his way up.
Paxton, by contrast, was expected to be a big part of this year’s success. The 26-year-old lefty had success as a starter in previous years but was limited by injuries. He is off to a rough start this season, and his Sunday performance was the worst yet.
Paxton’s 5.40 ERA doesn’t tell the full tale as he struggles to find his form and give the Seattle rotation a reliable top-three starter.
“I’m struggling right now,” Paxton said after the Mariners came back to beat Texas 11-10 on a Cruz walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth. “But I’m not going to quit fighting. I’m going to persevere.”
