Looking at the numbers, Pittsburgh Pirates’ starting pitcher Jameson Taillon has not lived up to expectations this season. He is 4-6 with a 4.03 ERA. In 82.2 innings pitched, Taillon has 78 strikeouts and 22 walks.
These numbers aren’t terrible. Overall, Taillon has produced like a solid a middle-of-the-rotation starter up to this point in 2018. The Pirates need more though. They need him to pitch like a number one.
Luckily, it seems as though Taillon may have turned a corner.
He has a new toy that has really played well. I’m talking about the slider.
Pre-slider
Over his first ten starts, Taillon struggled. He went 2-4 with a 4.56 ERA over 51.1 innings pitched. His WHIP was 1.29. Taillon struck out 48 batters and walked 16. His K rate was 21.9 percent and walk rate 7.3 percent.
Over this span, Taillon threw his fastball (both two and four-seam) 68.1 percent of the time. He threw his curveball and changeup at a rate of 22.6 and 8.5 percent respectively. The slider was non-existent, thrown less than one percent of the time.
This pitch mix resulted with Taillon giving up hard contact at a rate of 28.3 percent. He generated soft contact 21.1 percent of the time. His ground ball rate was 47.7 percent. Over this span, Taillon gave up seven home runs.
Post-slider
Almost everything has been better since Taillon started throwing the slider on May 27. His pitch mix looks more like the modern day starter.
In the five starts since adopting his slider, Taillon has used his fastball at a rate of 52.6 percent. He’s used the slider 26.6 percent of the time. The curveball remains a key part of the arsenal, used at a rate of 17 percent. His changeup usage has diminished, thrown 3.9 percent of the time.
During this span, Taillon is 2-2 with a 3.16 ERA. He has 30 strikeouts and six walks in 31.1 innings pitched. Taillon’s K rate increased to 23.6 percent and his walk rate dropped to 4.7 percent. His WHIP has lowered to 1.12.
Since adding the slider, Taillon has only given up three home runs. His ground ball rate has increased to 56.8 percent. He is generating more soft contact, 23.1 percent. His only blemish has been an increase in hard contact at 33 percent.
The slider effect
Taillon’s slider is a sharp one. It averages 90 mph. It is almost a hybrid slider-cutter. Whatever the case may be, this pitch has allowed Taillon to attack the strike zone more freely. As you can see, Taillon has walked less batters since throwing the pitch. He’s also striking out more. This has led to an increase to both soft and hard contact. It’s a small price to pay for a more aggressive approach.
In his first ten starts, hitters could all but sell out for the fastball since it was being thrown almost 70 percent of the time. This led to more nibbling around the edges rather than attacking the zone.
Now that he has added the slider, Taillon has added an additional way that he can attack hitters. It adds a new look that hitters must be aware of. The slider itself has been nasty this year. Opponents are hitting .227/.227/.364 with 65 wRC+ against it.
The slider has been the key to newfound success for Taillon over the last month. This pitch has been especially impressive considering he had never thrown it in his career until one month ago. As the season goes along, the pitch will progress. Taillon himself will continue to progress.
Adding another breaking ball should propel Taillon to reaching his full potential. At the beginning of the season, it looked like the outdated pitching philosophy of pounding nothing but fastballs would consume Taillon like it had consumed Gerrit Cole in the past. At this point in time, it looks as though an adjustment has finally been made.
Because of that, the Pirates might finally have their ace. At the very least, they will get the most of what Taillon truly has to offer.
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