Paxton fanned five and gave up one earned run on one hit over three innings in Thursday's 8-6 Cactus League win over the Cubs.

EDGE Analysis

Paxton's only hiccup was allowing Anthony Rizzo's first homer of spring in the first inning, as he then proceed to retire the next seven batters he faced. Impressively, four of Paxton's five strikeouts came on called third strikes, as he got ahead of hitters with his fastball before using a sharp curve to close the deal. His performance thus far this spring represents a sharp contrast to a rocky effort last year, one that resulted in Paxton starting the season at Triple-A Tacoma. The 28-year-old has locked in to a lower arm slot that already helped him up his velocity in the second half of last season, and his fastball has reached the upper 90s this spring on a consistent basis. Considering his strikeout victims Thursday included Kris Bryant, Willson Contreras, Kyle Schwarber and Jason Heyward, Paxton made a considerable impression. "Paxton was really the story of the day," manager Scott Servais said after his reserves rallied with four runs in the ninth to pull out the victory. "We swung the bats really well, but Paxton was really on top of his game against their 'A' lineup out there. It was great to see him using all his pitches and working both sides of the plate. Very, very encouraging."