 He pitched for the Kannapolis Intimidators of the A South Atlantic League where, after 2 games, he was promoted to the Winston-Salem Dash of the A+ Carolina League, where he started 5 games and had a 1.91 ERA.Axelrod started 2010 with Winston-Salem, going 8-3 with a 1.99 ERA in 99.1 innings, and pitched two games for the Birmingham Barons of the AA Southern League.He started 2011 with Birmingham as their opening day starter, going 3–2 with a 3.34 ERA and was a Southern League All-Star, before being promoted to the Charlotte Knights of the AAA International League, by then a full-time starter, going 6–1 with a 2.27 ERA in 15 starts before being promoted again to the major leagues.