One of his teammates at South Broward was Jose Marmolejos, who would also go on to play Major League Baseball for the Washington Nationals and Seattle Mariners.

[4] At Barry University in Miami Shores, Florida, James' coaches converted him to a pitcher exclusively, but he only pitched five innings in 2012.

After his freshman year, James decided to pursue another collegiate opportunity, citing a lack of playing time and an inability to secure a scholarship at Barry.

[7] Other WOSC alumni who played in MLB include Andrelton Simmons, Casey Sadler, Juan Perez, and Angel Castro.

[8] While at Western Oklahoma, James attempted to switch back to the infielder position but was informed by his coaches that he would find more success as a pitcher.

[2] He redshirted the 2013 season and returned as a member of the Pioneers' starting rotation in 2014, posting a 3.21 ERA and gathering 56 strikeouts in 61.2 innings.

[9] Following the 2014 season, James committed to transferring to Lynn University, a Division II school in Boca Raton, Florida.

[15] His roommate in rookie ball in 2014, Ryan Thompson, complained often about James' incessant snoring, saying, "He was like a chainsaw taking down a national forest.

[17] James was promoted to the major leagues for the first time on September 1, 2018,[18] becoming the lowest drafted pitcher in Houston Astros history to make a start for the team.

[21] In game 4 of the 2018 ALCS, James recorded his highest velocity fastball, clocking in at 102.4 miles per hour and striking out Rafael Devers.

After arriving to the pre-season camp late due to the birth of his daughter, James made two starts at the beginning of the delayed 2020 season before transitioning back to the bullpen.

Notably, James gave up a game-tying home run to Ji-man Choi in Game 5 of the 2020 American League Championship Series.

Originally set to return between late May and early June, he was retroactively placed on the 60-day injured list on May 26, 2021, as he continued to recover from the surgery.

[29] In his final appearance of the year for Sugar Land on October 3, he gave up 3 runs and left the game with an injury after hitting a 20 pitch limit.

[30] On March 30, James was optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land, now called the Space Cowboys, after two major league spring training appearances.

Several other tattoos honor his roots in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the date of his Major League debut (9.1.18) is inked on his right tricep.

James also has a bicep tattoo of the Florida Marlins logo, though he has stated that he was a fan of the New York Yankees growing up, citing Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez as his favorite players.

James and Lopez began dating in November 2013 while both were enrolled at Western Oklahoma State College and playing on the baseball and softball teams respectively.