The Pittsburgh Pirates had a disappointing 2016 season. As the off-season begins, it is time to grade out the club. Today we look at the best starter on the staff for much of the season, Jameson Taillon.
The 2016 season had its ups and downs for the Pittsburgh Pirates. While the season as a whole wasn’t a success, one of the bright spots this past year was the performance of the rookies. While Tyler Glasnow might have been the most anticipated Pirates rookie to get a call-up, Jameson Taillon arguably had the most success of any Pirate rookie this past season. He was consistent throughout the season, limiting bad performances and having a couple dynamic ones.
Highly Anticipated Debut and Follow-Up
Taillon, like Glasnow, was setting the world on fire at Triple-A before he hit the majors this season. His ability to limit walks at Indianapolis was why many had more faith in Taillon having immediate success than Glasnow. He was the first rookie to get a call-up out of the dynamic trifecta of Glasnow, Josh Bell, and himself, which led to his debut on June 8th to be hotly anticipated. He came out and had a similar debut to what Gerrit Cole did in his debut in 2013. He allowed three runs across six innings as he faced off against Noah Syndergaard, striking out three and walking two. It wasn’t an incredible start, but it was disappointing either. There was a lot to like and build off of.
What Taillon did to follow up his debut was incredible, however. He faced the Mets again five days later and pitched eight scoreless innings, striking out five and walking just one batter. He probably could have gone the distance as he was at just 91 pitches after those eight innings. It was this start that showed why Taillon was a prospect to get excited about: his ability to limit walks and throw pitches for strikes would make him the most consistent pitcher on the staff over the course of the season. It was this second start and how Taillon followed up his debut up that led to excitement for Taillon for every start for the rest of the season.
Ability to Limit Walks
Limiting walks is easily Taillon’s best attribute. Cole and Francisco Liriano were known for their ability to strike batters out; that’s how they had success. And while Taillon can strike out batters with the wicked curve he has, he finds his success by keeping the ball in the strike zone and limiting walks. Behind Ivan Nova, who didn’t spend the entire year with the Pirates, Taillon had the lowest BB/9 on the team at 1.5 and the highest K/BB at 5.00. We’ve seen guys like Liriano, who thrive off the strikeout, fall apart when they start walking batters. Taillon didn’t have that problem this season. While the strikeout is exciting and certainly the most effective way to get an out, limiting base runners in any way is also important to limiting runs and winning games.
Taillon only had one start with more than two walks, and that was his final start of the year when he allowed three walks, but still only allowed one run to the Cubs over six innings in that start. He had more starts allowing zero walks (six) than he did allowing two walks or more (four). That’s amazing poise and command for any pitcher in baseball, and even more so for a rookie. It’s a good bet that this control will carry over to 2017 and beyond, as he displayed it throughout his time in the minors before last season as well.
Impressive Finish to the Year
On August 27th, Taillon had his worst start of the year against the Brewers, allowing five runs in just three innings of work. It was the most runs he allowed all year and his shortest outing of the season. His season from that point on could have gone in a negative direction. Taillon could have been hitting a rookie wall, as he tired out after his first full season in years. Instead, he pitched to a solid 3.33 ERA in September, allowing three runs or less in each of his five September starts, including a six-inning, one-run effort to finish his year against the Cubs. Next to Nova, Taillon was Pittsburgh’s best starter down the stretch, and the way he finished as a rookie was impressive. He left us with something to be optimistic about heading into 2017.
Conclusion and Final Grade
Jameson Taillon had a rookie campaign very similar to that of Gerrit Cole in 2013. We’ve seen the trajectory Cole took, pitching a quality season in 2014, then finishing fourth in NL Cy Young voting last year. Could Taillon be taking a similar path? This past season gave us a lot to be optimistic about in terms of Taillon’s future. He was impressive as a rookie, and taking that into consideration, I’d grade Taillon as a B+ for 2016. He’ll have a bigger role in 2017, and hopefully he can be one-half of a great one-two punch next to Cole for the next few seasons.
What grade would you give Taillon?
Agree with our grade? Disagree? Cast your vote below to let your voice be heard!
What grade would you give Jameson Taillon for his rookie campaign?
— Jason Rollison (@jrollisonpgh) October 10, 2016
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