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Prospect Watch: Jameson Taillon Strikes Out a Career-High 11 Batters

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P2 Top 30

A look at how the current top 30 prospects did today.  Note that this list doesn’t include players currently in the majors. If a player is in the majors, he will be removed, everyone below him will be shifted up a spot, and a new player will be added to the bottom of the list. If a player is out for the season, he will be removed and everyone below him will move up a spot. Removing these guys doesn’t mean they have lost prospect status. It is just an attempt to get 30 active prospects on the list. Rankings are from the 2016 prospect guide, and links on each name go to their Pirates Prospects player pages.

We’re working on a solution for the PHP stat codes not working in the app.

1. Tyler Glasnow, RHP, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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2. Austin Meadows, CF, Altoona – [insert_php]
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3. Josh Bell, 1B, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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4. Jameson Taillon, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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5. Alen Hanson, 2B, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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6. Harold Ramirez, OF, Altoona -[insert_php]
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7. Reese McGuire, C, Altoona -[insert_php]
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8. Elias Diaz, C, Pirates – Disabled List.

9. Nick Kingham, RHP, Indianapolis – Disabled List

10. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, West Virginia -[insert_php]
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11. Kevin Newman, SS, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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12. Yeudy Garcia, RHP, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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13. Steven Brault, LHP, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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 14. Stephen Tarpley, LHP, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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15.Cole Tucker, SS, West Virginia – [insert_php]
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16. Chad Kuhl, RHP, Indianapolis – [insert_php]
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17. Max Moroff, 2B, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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18. Mitch Keller, RHP, West Virginia -[insert_php]
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19. Clay Holmes, RHP, Altoona – [insert_php]
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20. Willy Garcia, OF, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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21. Brandon Waddell, LHP, Altoona – [insert_php]
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22. Tyler Eppler, RHP, Altoona -[insert_php]
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23. Barrett Barnes, OF, Altoona -[insert_php]
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24. Trevor Williams, RHP, Indianapolis – Disabled List

25. Gage Hinsz, RHP  – Extended Spring Training

26. Adrian Valerio, SS – Extended Spring Training

27. Adam Frazier, INF/OF, Indianapolis -[insert_php]
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28. Kevin Kramer, 2B, Bradenton -[insert_php]
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29. Jordan Luplow, OF/3B, Bradenton – [insert_php]
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30. JT Brubaker, RHP, West Virginia -[insert_php]
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P2 Top Performers

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Prospect-Watch-Indy

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Jameson Taillon made his seventh start of the season on Saturday evening against Scranton. He came into the game with the fifth best ERA in the International League and his 0.78 WHIP is the best in the league. Taillon was coming off an outing in which he gave up three runs for the first time all season.

The first batter of the game walked on four pitches (all fastballs) and none of them were close. The next batter singled up the middle, putting runners on the corners. One pitch later, Taillon recorded his first out on a fly ball to left field. That was followed by another one pitch out, but this time it was Nick Swisher flying out to center field to bring home a run. Taillon battled the next hitter, throwing three 3-2 pitches before getting a pop up to third base. Taillon threw 17 pitches, nine for strikes, and all of his off-speed pitches (two curves, one change) missed the zone.

In the second inning, Taillon got his first strikeout on a curve looking. The next batter doubled just out of the reach of Adam Frazier in center field. The next batter doubled down the first base line, bringing home a run. The runner moved to third base on a throwing error by Willy Garcia. Taillon hit 96 on a swinging strikeout for the second out. He set that pitch up with a nice curve. He struck out his third batter of the inning, this time using all three pitches for strikes. The last two at-bats were very impressive, but he gave up a couple hard hits for another run. Taillon hit 95 twice with the fastball and 90 with the change-up (I’m mentioning all the pitch speeds the announcers give). He threw 18 pitches, 12 for strikes.

The third began with another strikeout, this time with a nice curve, followed by an outside fastball. The strikeout streak kept going with the second batter, as he continued to mix the curve and fastball well. Taillon set down Nick Swisher swinging on a curve, using all three pitches in this at-bat. It took 15 pitches, so he hasn’t had an easy innings yet, but this inning was as impressive as I’ve seen all year from him. The last five batters he faced went a lot different than the first eight as far as command and quality of pitches.

In the fourth, the first pitch was crushed to right field for a home run. It was just the second home run he allowed this season. The next pitch was grounded out to shortstop for the first out. He struck out the next batter on an inside 3-2 fastball just up out of the zone. The next batter lined a 3-2 fastball into left field for a single. The inning ended on a fly ball to left-center. The curve had real good break in this inning, though he did miss on a couple. It has looked real good after the first three he threw didn’t do much. Another inning where he put in work had him at 66 pitches through four frames.

Taillon began the fifth with two change-ups, getting a ground out to first base on the second pitch. The next batter struck out on a curve, as he used all three pitches for strikes. He ended the inning quickly on a hard grounder to second baseman Pedro Florimon, stationed in short right field. This inning was just nine pitches and four of them were change-ups.

The sixth started with another Nick Swisher match-up and Taillon got him swinging on a fastball well up out of the zone. He then struck out the next batter on a fastball on the outside corner, his tenth strikeout of the game, which tied his career high. He finished by striking out the side, getting Deibinson Romero to go down on a check swing at the curve in the dirt. That last strikeout set his new career best, topping the old mark he set in April of 2013 and matched a month later.

The sixth ended his day with 89 pitches, 57 for strikes. It got off to a rough start in the first two innings and the home run was crushed, but the last four innings of the outing were as good as he looked all season. I mentioned in his last outing that only his change-up looked good and early on it looked like nothing was working. He changed that with those last two strikeouts in the second inning and continued throwing strikes with all three pitches until he was done with his outing. It’s the first time this season he’s had all three pitches working at the same time for an extended time. Despite allowing three runs on five hits and a walk, this was still an extremely positive outing. A huge improvement on his last start, which actually looked about the same on paper.

Indianapolis lost this one 3-2 and Taillon took his second straight defeat. They put up both of their runs in the first inning and it took some help from the defense to make that happen. After Alen Hanson lined a single into left field to start the game, both Pedro Florimon and Adam Frazier tried to move him up with a bunt. Both got credited with hits, as the pitcher and third baseman had communication issues on both plays, allowing them to reach safely. Indianapolis scored their runs on consecutive ground outs by Jason Rogers and Josh Bell. After that, they were shutdown for the next eight innings.

Alen Hanson had a nice day, hitting three line drive singles and stealing a base, his seventh swipe of the year. Willy Garcia has been showing better plate patience lately and I mentioned that it looked like pitchers were trying to get him to chase instead of throwing him strikes. Well that ended in this game, as he went down on strikes all four at-bats, swinging through pitches both in and out of the zone. He also committed his first error of the season, so it wasn’t a good day. Gift Ngoepe had a moral victory, not striking out in a game for the first time all season. It may have helped that he was pinch-hit for his last time up, because the opposing closer had terrific stuff.

This game was lost on a caught stealing, with Dan Gamache trying to move up from first on a ball in the dirt. He was thrown out to end the game. His single in the inning broke an 0-for-10 streak, which dated back to last Friday. He is 3-for-22 in May after hitting .333 in April.

Prospect-Watch-Altoona-Curve

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Altoona went into the ninth inning with very little to show on the offense side, trailing 6-1 to Richmond. By the time the inning was over, they had won 7-6, handing the Flying Squirrels their ninth straight loss. David Whitehead started this game and went five innings, mostly because the Richmond hitters were very impatient at the plate early. He gave up four runs on six hits and four walks, striking out four batters. This was actually Whitehead’s best outing since he threw five shutout innings in back-to-back starts against Richmond last month. Edgar Santana made his second Double-A appearance and had his worst outing of the season, allowing two runs in two innings. One of those earned runs came on a wild pitch that could have been called a passed ball against Jin-De Jhang because it did hit off his glove. Santana had some control issues, walking two and allowing three hits.

Before the ninth inning, the Curve had six hits, all singles, and from six different players. The only run before the ninth, came in the first inning when Jhang singled home Harold Ramirez. At one point in the game, Richmond pitchers retired 14 consecutive, with the last out of that stretch coming in the ninth inning when Stetson Allie struck out to start the frame. All of the runs scored with two outs, with the second out being a gift strikeout on a high fastball called a strike to pinch-hitter Austin Meadows. After that, Ramirez doubled, then Erich Weiss doubled. Those hits were followed by an error by the third baseman, then a hard hit ball off his glove, which was ruled a single for Edwin Espinal. Jhang then doubled home two runs for the lead.

With two hits, Jhang raised his average to .320 through 14 games. He had three hits in his last start on Tuesday. Barrett Barnes also had a two-hit game, which followed a three-hit performance on Friday. Harold Ramirez went 2-for-5 to extend his hit streak to six games. He is 13-for-28 during that stretch.

Prospect-Watch-Bradenton

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Bradenton won 2-1 behind strong pitching from Alex McRae and Luis Heredia on Saturday night. McRae threw seven innings and gave up one run on five hits and a walk, while striking out four batters. He did a good job of throwing strikes and getting grounders. McRae had a 10:4 GO/AO ratio in this game and threw 58 of his 85 pitches for strikes. He lowered his ERA to 2.79 through 42 innings. It was the first time he went seven innings this season. Heredia followed and retired all six batters he has faced, three by strikeout and three on grounders. He now has an 0.51 ERA, giving up one earned run in 17.2 innings.

Connor Joe homered in the ninth to put Bradenton ahead. It was his second home run of the season, and third of his career. Logan Hill’s second double of the season was the only other extra-base hit for the Marauders. Michael Suchy drove in the other run, extending his modest hit streak to five games. Kevin Newman reached base twice with a single and a walk. He has reached base at least twice in eight of his last nine games. Elvis Escobar has picked up hits in 13 of his last 14 games, including two singles on Saturday. In the only game he didn’t collect a hit during that stretch, he drove in a run.

Prospect-Watch-WV-Power

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Dario Agrazal had a terrific outing for West Virginia on Saturday afternoon, allowing one run on six hits and no walks over seven innings. He had three strikeouts, a 9:4 GO/AO ratio and needed just 70 pitches to get through his outing. He has had two poor outings among his seven starts. In the five good games, Agrazal has allowed two earned runs in 26 innings. The ground out rate is good to see because he came into the game with an 0.90 GO/AO ratio, which is well below his career mark.

The Power tied this game in the ninth with a solo homer from Cole Tucker, who came into the at-bat with three hits in 19 times up this season. It was the only extra-base hit and only run by West Virginia, as they had just four singles in the first eight innings. They went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position. Carlos Munoz had two hits, while Ke’Bryan Hayes and John Bormann had the other two singles.

Daniel Zamora took the walk-off 2-1 loss in the bottom of the ninth by giving up a walk, sacrifice bunt, and then a two-out single. He came into the game with a 1.04 ERA.

West Virginia started this season 14-3, and they have gone 4-13 since then.

John Dreker
John Dreker
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball. When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.

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