Pittsburgh Pirates rookie Jameson Taillon is making adjustments to his approach seemingly on the fly. His results have not suffered.
10 starts into his career, and Pittsburgh Pirates rookie Jameson Taillon has made quite an impression.
In the span of a handful of starts, he is quickly evolving from a top pitching prospect to an anchor of a Pirates’ pitching staff that now needs it after the trade of Francisco Liriano on August 1.
His eight scoreless inning performance in yesterday’s 4-0 win against the San Diego Padres is the latest masterpiece in a portfolio that is growing in both volume and value.
Tempered Expectations
The former no. 2 overall pick in the 2010 entry draft, Taillon has posted a 3-2 record with a 2.85 ERA in 60 innings. Perhaps the more important win-loss number is the 7-3 mark the Pirates have attained when Taillon starts. But his manager isn’t ready to make too much of it just yet.
“It’s 10 starts,” said Clint Hurdle, dousing the flame some may be using to ignite Taillon as something bigger than a 24-year-old in his first season in the big leagues. “It’s not 20. It’s not 30.”
Hurdle was right for two reasons: the Pirates will need him to be good for many more games in order to reach their goal of winning their first World Series since 1979. Taillon also hasn’t yet reached the peak of his ability. If eight quality starts in ten appearances in any indicator, he’s just getting started.
“I think incrementally he’s just working to get a little bit better,” Hurdle said. “He’s pounding the zone, working the right way, and I love the rhythm and the pace he works at as well.”
Taillon Through 10 MLB Starts
Take a look at some key peripherals through Taillon’s first 10 MLB starts
Rhythm Equals First Pitch Strikes
Taillon threw first-pitch strikes to 18 of the 28 batters he faced Thursday, a rate of 64 percent, slightly above the 62.4 percent he recorded in his previous nine starts. He also forced 10 ground outs in the game with four strikeouts and only two walks, improving his strikeout-to-walk ratio to nearly 6:1 this season.
What makes his efficiency even more impressive is the fact that Taillon is still getting consistent results while making adjustments in between starts, which continued for Thursday’s outing. He had thrown his changeup only 9.3 percent of the time entering the game, but he threw it 21 times against the Padres, according to Brooks Baseball, a percentage of 20.8, more than twice as much as he’d used it all season.
“I felt like I hadn’t been throwing my changeup much to righties, so today I wanted to mix that in and give it another weapon,” Taillon said. “I don’t want to be a two-pitch guy to right-handers.”
Taillon threw 15 of those changeups for strikes, and six of them were turned into outs. Derek Norris’ one-out single in the eighth inning was the only base hit the Padres collected against the changeup.
[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”Clint Hurdle on Jameson Taillon” link=”” color=”#000000″ class=”” size=””]He’s pounding the zone, working the right way, and I love the rhythm and the pace he works at as well.[/perfectpullquote]“(To throw) a four-seam fastball at 94 miles per hour in the seventh inning, that shows you some resolve.” Hurdle said. “It shows you some strength, some physical strength to carry that late. But to take eight, nine miles an hour off that and it looks like the same pitch? That can be very effective.”
The two shortest starts of Taillon’s season came in late June, when he lasted only four innings against the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers in consecutive games. After that, Taillon decided it was time to switch things up.
“I thought early guys were starting to look out over the plate and use the opposite field pretty well off of me,” he said. “Word gets out quick. Tape gets out quick. There’s video on everything. Hitters are smart. They watch the game on the bench. They do their homework.”
Teacher’s Pet
But Taillon has done his homework too, aided by pitching coach Ray Searage and catchers Francisco Cervelli and Chris Stewart. Taillon gives them credit for helping him find the right solutions to adjust to hitters from game-to-game.
“The catchers and Ray really game-plan quite well,” he said. “I’m just going out there. I don’t shake much. I just kind of throw whatever those guys put down.”
“He’s a good student of the game,” Hurdle said. “He has a quiet confidence, though, so it’s not like he’s knocking on doors to talk about this. I think when he has a question he goes and searches out an answer. That game-planning part of it I think is already becoming something that he looks forward to.”
The results of that emphasis on the game plan were evident. The increased use of Taillon’s changeup, combined with his two-seam fastball and curveball worked well together to keep San Diego off-balance for most of the afternoon.
“The two-seam has been newer for me,” he said. “The more I use that, the more I learn how to effectively use that. It’s no secret I like to throw my curveball in strikeout counts or when I’m ahead in the count, so I’m just kind of playing with pitch sequencing and selection.”
“Pitch efficiency continues to be first and foremost for me,” Hurdle said. “That’s very, very attractive.”
As for Taillon, he continues to find ways to make it not only very attractive, but also very effective.
Right now, the Pittsburgh Pirates will take effective starts, no matter how they come.
Josh Taylor is an award-winning sports personality who currently serves as a producer/host on Trib Live Radio as well as appearing on KDKA‘s sports coverage and programming.
Featured Photo Credit – Daniel Decker Photography
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