Pittsburgh Pirates: Have they found their ace in Jameson Taillon?
By Jason Evans
After yesterday’s complete game shutout have the Pittsburgh Pirates found their ace in Jameson Taillon?
The Pittsburgh Pirates had an off-season of turnover much like the two teams that call the state of Florida their home. With one year remaining on his deal, the Pirates shipped out Andrew McCutchen to the San Francisco Giants. With two years left on his deal, Gerrit Cole was sent to the defending World Champion Houston Astros.
Nevertheless, the Pittsburgh Pirates have started 2018 with a 7-2 record. Gregory Polanco has gotten off to a great start with the bat while Jameson Taillon has gotten off to a great start on the mound.
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Taillon was the second pick in the 2010 MLB Draft. He was picked after Bryce Harper, right before Manny Machado and ahead of Matt Harvey, Chris Sale, Christian Yelich, Yasmani Grandal, Aaron Sanchez, Noah Syndergaard, and Taijuan Walker.
Taillon reached the majors in 2016, and big things were expected in 2017. Taillon was diagnosed with testicular cancer last May and came back five weeks later and finished the year with an 8-7 record in 25 starts.
Taillon has gotten off to an excellent start this year, and yesterday, pitched the Pittsburgh Pirates first one-hit shutout since A.J. Burnett in 2012. He even had an RBI single to boot.
A key to Taillon’s success has been his fastball. He threw a whopping 80 of them yesterday averaging 94 MPH.
The Pittsburgh Pirates still have some talented young pitching. Taillon, Tyler Glasnow, and Chad Kuhl have come up over the past couple of seasons. In the Cole deal, Joe Musgrove was added, and he will get a chance to start once he comes off the DL. The club also has one of the top pitching prospects in the game in Mitch Keller.
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Even though the Pittsburgh Pirates had a bit of a sell-off during the off-season, there is still talent on this club. If Taillon can take that next step and the other young pitchers can continue to develop, their pitching staff will be in good shape, and maybe they can make some noise in the National League Central this year.