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Prospect Watch: Jameson Taillon Takes a Step Forward

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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.

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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 – disabled list

 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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INDIANAPOLIS — Jameson Taillon isn’t going to complain about his final results, but admitted he didn’t have the same crispness on Thursday as in his previous start.

Taillon allowed five hits and no runs over six innings of work in the Indians’ 4-2 win over Columbus. He struck out eight and walked none.

“I felt pretty good,” Taillon said. “If you go six scoreless you have to take it for what it is. When you get to the top levels it’s all about results. But I actually thought my stuff was a lot crisper in Scranton, and I went six and gave up three [runs].”

Taillon said his curveball wasn’t as sharp as it had been recently. He got some strikeouts on that pitch, but wasn’t getting as much effective use out of it early in the count at batters.

“When I was getting some pull on it, pulling it down, getting some yank on the seams, it was pretty sharp,” Taillon said. “As far as 0-0 curveballs, it wasn’t my best feel day for it. It’s a very feel pitch. In Scranton, I was just dropping it in for early strikes.”

Taillon’s fastball was sitting in the 92-94 MPH range, while his changeup was in the mid-80s. It was the effective use of his changeup that countered the lack of crispness with his curveball.

“I definitely consider it a weapon now,” It’s not just something I’m developing or working on, it’s something I’m using to get out of situations with a runner on, big situation, or behind to a big hitter.”

That aspect of Taillon’s outing led Indianapolis manager Dean Treanor to say “he took a step forward.”

“With these guys, when you don’t have your usual pitches, you have to learn how to pitch without that pitch, or use it in situations and locations that’s not going to hurt you,” Treanor said. “I didn’t think he had his usual curveball today, which has been a big pitch for him really every time out. I thought he used his changeup effectively today, so that was really his best secondary pitch today.”

Jacob Stallings hit a solo home run in the fourth inning, giving the Indians a 4-0 lead. The ensuing inning led to Taillon earning praise and criticism from Treanor.

“Once we put four runs on the board, he went out there in the fifth inning, walks a guy, gives up a base hit, and then battles it out,” Treanor said. “Again, youth, getting ahead of themselves, pitching to the scoreboard, that kind of stuff… It’s one thing to pitch into trouble, but you’ve got to be able to pitch out of trouble. I thought he did that in the fifth inning today. He dialed it up. But it shouldn’t take until the fifth inning to dial it up. After that point, he threw the ball really well in the fifth inning.”

Taillon threw 91 pitches through his six innings of work. He could have pitched into the seventh inning, but the team didn’t do so in order to limit his workload after two years off, Indians manager Dean Treanor said.

Taillon now has four starts where he has not allowed a walk. In 49.1 innings this season, he has walked five batters, while striking out 51.

Josh Bell went 2-for-3 with two RBI, including a two-run single from the right side of the plate, which can be viewed in the video below.

Josh Bell picks up an RBI single in today’s Indianapolis game. #Pirates

A video posted by Pirates Prospects (@piratesprospects) on

Reliever Trey Haley had been making some progress in recent outings, but may have taken a step back on Thursday against his former organization. After three consecutive one-inning outings in which he did not allow a hit or a run, Haley struggled with his control. He lasted just 0.1 innings, allowing two hits, two walks, and one run. – Brian Peloza

Prospect-Watch-Altoona-Curve

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Tyler Eppler came into Thursday night leading Altoona in ERA, WHIP, strikeouts and innings pitched. In each of his last two starts, he went seven innings while allowing one earned run. In the first inning, Eppler started off with a long at-bat that ended in a double off the right field wall. Harold Ramirez didn’t get a good jump on it and turned the wrong way while chasing it, possibly due to the sun, but it looked catchable. The next batter also saw a lot of pitches before flying out to right-center field. The runner tagged up on Ramirez and his throw was well off-line. That was followed by a fly to medium center field, which scored the runner, as the throw from Austin Meadows came up well short.

The first inning ended on a fly ball to center field. Everything was hit in the air and Eppler worked hard. He threw 22 pitches, 12 for strikes and used all of his pitches. He hit 96 according to the Binghamton gun, which is just above the 92-94 range we usually see. Ramirez has looked very poor in the outfield in the games I’ve watched this year, especially in center field. He has a stronger arm than Meadows and Barrett Barnes, but his accuracy is fairly poor.

In the second inning, the first batter flew out to deep left field for the first out. Eppler finally got a grounder off the bat of the second hitter, getting him to ground out to second base. The next batter lined a double down the third base line, Eppler finished the inning with a swinging strikeout. He threw 15 pitches.

The third started with the pitcher popping out to second base. Eppler then got a quick out on a liner right to Barnes in left field. He went full on the next hitter before getting a grounder to third to end the inning. Eppler hit 92-94 this frame, getting out of the inning on 13 pitches.

The first pitch of the fourth was hit out to right field for the first out. The next batter popped out to third base. The third hitter grounded out to shortstop Chris Diaz, who sent a souvenir into the crowd for an error that allowed the runner to go to second base. Eppler quickly ended the inning with an infield pop out. Through four innings, he was at 63 pitches, 35 for strikes. He didn’t have any walks at this point, but he went to three balls on multiple batters.

Eppler was back out there right away after a very quick top of the fifth from Altoona hitters. He gave up a ground ball single to start the inning. He got the first out on a fly to center field. Eppler then struck out the pitcher on a 95 MPH fastball up out of the zone. The inning ended on a bouncing ball to third base. At 12 pitches, this was his quickest inning and it could have been quicker. Eppler picked the runner off first, but then botched the rundown when he was called for interfering with the runner.

The sixth started with a double that landed right on the left field line. The next batter struck out swinging at a ball in the dirt. That was followed by a grounder through the right side for an RBI. A grounder in the same spot from the next hitter resulted in an inning ending double play. That also ended Eppler’s night with 90 pitches, 57 for strikes. His final line was two runs on five hits over six innings. He had three strikeouts and didn’t walk any batters. He had a 5:7 GO/AO ratio, which isn’t far off his career 0.97 GO/AO ratio.

Eppler seems to have a lot of starts with hard contact, but the opposition has nothing to show for it at the end. His games are rarely pretty to watch, yet his line at the end of the night looks like a totally different game. Eppler usually does a good job of keeping the ball down, even if it doesn’t result in a lot of grounders. He didn’t get many swing and misses in this game and that’s been true of his last few starts. On the good side, he did a nice job of using both sides of the plate and mixed his off-speed pitches in well. He has also been very reliable, going six innings or more in seven of his eight starts. His ERA now stands at 2.74 through 49.1 innings.

Jhondaniel Medina followed Eppler and had a rough time in his two innings. He came into the game with an 0.96 ERA in 18.2 innings with Altoona, but gave up three runs on two hits and four walks is this game. Medina came in with a 3-2 lead and the Curve lost 5-4.

The big prospects all had good days at the plate. Harold Ramirez went 1-for-3 with two walks and drove in a run. Austin Meadows also went 1-for-3 with two walks. He also tripled and scored a run. Reese McGuire had two hits, including an RBI double that scored Meadows. It was his third straight multi-hit game. For Meadows, he finally broke the Mendoza line with his average, while McGuire has pushed his average up 66 points in the last 11 days. Anderson Feliz started the scoring with a solo homer, his first of the season.

Prospect-Watch-Bradenton

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Kevin Newman hit his second home run of the season and Alex McRae threw six shutout innings, but it might all be for nothing. Bradenton and Brevard County were tied 1-1 in the ninth when the rain started. The game was finally suspended, but they won’t resume the game unless it has playoff implications. That’s because the two teams don’t meet again in the first half of the season and the records reset for the second half. Brevard County is in last place, 12 games out in their division, so there is no chance they will need to play to decide the playoffs. Bradenton is in third place, 1.5 games out, but they would need to be within a half game (ahead, tied or behind) on the day the first half ends for this game to matter. So it’s possible this game will be finished at some point next month, but if not, the stats won’t count.

Prospect-Watch-WV-Power

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West Virginia got seven solid innings from Dario Agrazal and then held on for a 7-6 win. Agrazal went seven innings for the second straight game. He allowed two runs on six hits and a walk, while picking up three strikeouts. It was a typical day for him, keeping the ball down and pitching to contact. Agrazal had a 9:3 GO/AO ratio and threw 63 of his 92 pitches for strikes. The walk he issued was just his fourth of the season.

Agrazal left with a 7-2 lead, but that was nearly erased in the eighth when Daniel Zamora allowed four runs before being removed from the game. Julio Eusebio finished out the game with 1.1 scoreless for the save.

The offense put on a nice display, with each of the first six batters reaching base at least twice. Mitchell Tolman led the way with three hits. He also drove in a run and stole a base. Ke’Bryan Hayes had two hits, scored twice and had an RBI. Danny Arribas had two hits, two walks, scored twice and drove in a run. He now has a .401 OBP. Carlos Munoz had two hits and a walk. Casey Hughston had a hit and a walk, while Cole Tucker had a double and a walk. Tucker has a .680 in nine games this season. Ryan Nagle only had one hit, but it was a two-run triple.

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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