Mariners' James Paxton: Impressive in Thursday bullpen session

Paxton was impressive in his first bullpen session of camp Thursday, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

The 28-year-old southpaw reportedly flashed impressive velocity during his session, an encouraging sign for a pitcher the Mariners are hoping can finally break out in 2017. Paxton has been solid over 50 major league starts across his first four seasons, going 18-15 with a 3.43 ERA. However, he's yet to surpass 121 innings or six victories in any of those campaigns, and his 20 starts in 2016 represented a career high. Paxton is currently penciled in as Seattle's third starter behind Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma heading into spring training.