The Pittsburgh Pirates must do what’s in the best interests for the health of Jameson Taillon for the remainder of this season and beyond.
To call him the Tyler Glasnow of his time wouldn’t do him justice.
Jameson Taillon has been every bit the force of nature this season for the Pittsburgh Pirates that he was touted to be right from the beginning. The triumphant story is well known overcoming Tommy John surgery and an inguinal hernia to finally break through to the majors after a dominant start to the 2016 season, but one thing we all knew would be a concern is how Taillon would be utilized down the stretch.
Stuck between a rock and a hard place right from the beginning, the Pirates finally have to start making a decision. If they root for him to be a success, the decision to limit him or even shut him down only becomes that much more difficult. If they root against him, they’re rooting for the failure a player once touted to be the knockout blow to the one-two combo with Gerrit Cole.
Taillon’s story is reminiscent of Matt Harvey’s, which should be of concern to the Pirates’ front office. After undergoing Tommy John surgery and missing all of the 2014 season, Harvey exceeded 200 innings in his first year back, including 26.2 high-leverage innings in the postseason.
Time to Start Thinking About October
Following his last start against the Astros, Taillon stands at 135.2 innings. With just a month left in the regular season, Taillon is likely to average at least six innings over his last seven or so starts. As the rotation stands, Taillon would pitch in the season finale against the Cardinals on October 2, which would be unfortunate timing for an eighth start before the end of the season.
Even seven, six-inning starts would put Taillon at roughly another 40 innings during the regular season. That would put him between 175 and 180 innings. If the Pirates were to make an extended playoff run, Taillon, much like Harvey, would exceed 200 innings in his first season back. Harvey, who hasn’t pitched since the Fourth of July, could be forced to undergo surgery to alleviate symptoms of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome.
Only time will tell if the stories surrounding the two aces will be mutually exclusive, but the Pirates should take every measure possible to try to prevent Taillon from experiencing similar relapses. Taillon could be utilized in a split start role with Jeff Locke, Juan Nicasio, or Ryan Vogelsong coming out of the bullpen in relief, or the club could simply shuffle the rotation to be able to re-shuffle the rotation and skip Taillon in the process.
It’s no longer a discussion that can be put off, and with Taillon being the team’s most consistent starter since being promoted, he stands to be the team’s best hope to break the streak of losing in the wild card game, if the Pirates can catch the runner up in the NL West and/or the Cardinals.
Image Credit – Daniel Decker Photography
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