After many years of misfiring on high draft picks, the Pirates finally started getting it right and are starting to reap the benefits even as they have managed to build a more competitive team at the MLB level. If everything goes as planned, it's all about to come together in a perfect storm of talent that will make them very tough to beat for years to come. Last year it was Gerrit Cole graduating to the majors. This year, we could see the other half of the two-headed pitching monster, Jameson Taillon join him in the Pirate rotation.
Taillon is a 6'6", 225 lb RHP who throws triple digit heat with some regularity. A couple of years ago, a video of him blowing FB's past a helpless Joe Mauer went somewhat viral on the internet. His numbers in AA and AAA last year were not quite as dominant as the reputation of his stuff:
AA 4-7, 3.67, 110.1 IP, 36 BB, 106 K.
AAA 1-3, 3.89, 37 IP, 16 BB, 37 K.
Like many hard throwers, the walks are a bit on the high side and his ERA is higher than you would like to see from a guy you expect dominance from, but Cole had similar ERA's and seems to have settled in nicely at the MLB level.
The Pirates expect Taillon to start the season in AAA, but GM Neil Huntington isn't ruling anything out, saying he's learned to "never say never."
Taillon is a guy you will want to follow closely and consider rostering as soon as he hits the majors.
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He sounds like a stud. The projectability and the stuff outweigh the numbers. I'm a big fan of the turnaround in Pittsburgh, PA.
ReplyDeleteA buddy of mine who is a Pirates fan mentioned how excited he is about Tallion coming up in 2014. Can't blame him dreaming of a 2.headed pitching monitor with Gerit Cole. They also have Francisco Liriano so their rotation is sporty as is. Tallion sounds close to MLB ready according to a report he's made good progress developing his changeup. We'll see.. I've teased him in the past about how the Pirates passed on M Machado #3 Orioles, and M Harvey #7 Mets in the 2010 draft.
ReplyDeleteLG