JOHNSTOWN, PA – After missing all of 2014 with Tommy John surgery and working his way back in 2015 only to be abruptly halted due to a hernia, Jameson Taillon crashed onto the scene in 2016, making his major league debut with the Pirates on June 8th against the Mets. Taillon quickly made his presence felt, throwing eight innings of two-hit baseball six days later in New York during his second career start. Then there was a great start in Seattle. Eight innings against both San Diego and Houston. And of course in late September against the Cubs.
Overall, Taillon reached the century mark in innings pitched for the Pirates – throwing 104 IP with a 3.38 ERA – and he threw a total of 165.2 innings between Triple-A and Pittsburgh in his 2016 campaign. Taillon showed the city of Pittsburgh some glimpses into what the future may hold for the young right-hander, and that future shined awfully bright.
Some of the results are one thing to reflect back on and be happy about for the 25-year-old from Texas, but the ability to stay healthy for a full season was most important for Taillon.
“It was such an interesting year,” Taillon said while in Johnstown at a stop with the Pirates CARE-a-van. “Coming back from the injury, we really didn’t have anything set in stone with innings or numbers. They said to be honest with us and be open, and we will be honestly and open with you in return. We ended up going through the whole season that way. We really didn’t put a number on it.”
Taillon said that he earned every inning pitched last season because of a strong work ethic, which included getting in the weight room and learning how to properly recover after starts. His goal this season is to build upon his total of 165 innings from last year and improve from there. Ultimately, though, Taillon wants to become a 200 innings pitcher in the majors. He said that he looks at guys like Madison Bumgarner, Jake Arrieta, and Jon Lester as examples on how to be that workhorse.
After taking a few weeks off after the season to relax, spend time with family, and get off of his feet, Taillon said that he has been hitting the gym and weight room to ultimately work on his strength. He, as well as fellow Pirates right-handed pitcher Nick Kingham, began to throw for the first time this offseason last week.
“Last season, I switched my workout places, I lost some weight, and I focused on the fine tuning of things to hopefully keep me healthy, and it worked,” Taillon said. “Now, I’m back to building some strength. I noticed a lot of the top of the rotation guys are built extremely strong. I’m trying to get stronger and build my legs up, so that I can hopefully get 200 innings in a MLB season.”
He also is looking at different approaches to improve upon his results from 2016, which featured a heavily used two-seamer – a pitch that he really didn’t start throwing a lot until his last start in Triple-A Indianapolis. It was Kyle Stark who told Taillon after that start from the Indians that his two-seamer “could be his ticket to the majors”. Now that his two-seamer is established, what’s next?
“I know I can throw my changeup more,” Taillon said. “I can throw it in more selective counts. It’s a pitch that I haven’t trusted as much, and I realize the importance of it. I know it can play at the major league level.”
Details aside, expectations are much different going into 2017 for Jameson Taillon than they have ever been before. He’s not being looked at as a prospect or as a guy coming back from injury, Taillon is essentially being looked at as a number two starter in this Pirates’ rotation. For a second year professional, that could be a lot of pressure on his shoulders, but Taillon seems to be more than ready to take on the challenge.
“I don’t like putting too much pressure on myself, but I do think that – if I go to the park every day and do my job – I can pitch at the top of the rotation in the major leagues,” Taillon said. “Since a young age, I’ve had pressure and expectations on me. People have always looked at me to be ‘the guy’, from high school to Team USA to being a high draft position. I feel like I’ve been raised and brought up my whole life for that moment, and I’m going to be ready for it.
“I felt like I ‘belonged’ last year. As the season went on, I felt like I was a major league pitcher. That’s a big jump, and I was facing some guys that get paid a lot of money to do what they do. I walked away from the season looking back at those starts knowing that I belonged here, and I can do it at this level. I can be a good major league pitcher for a long time.”
The way things currently look, the Pittsburgh Pirates are going to need Jameson Taillon to be “the guy”, and from the way it sounds, he is more than ready for that challenge.
Pirates CARE-a-van Stop in Johnstown
The Pirates CARE-a-van made a stop in my hometown last Wednesday night, bringing along Taillon, Nick Kingham, newcomer Lisalverto Bonilla, Euclides Rojas, and Joey Cora. According to the Pirates official release, the CARE-a-van will visit a total of 19 events impacting 11 cities in the greater Pittsburgh area, including stops in Altoona, Morgantown, Butler, New Castle, Wheeling, WV, and more.
This particular stop brought the group to Ace’s Banquets and Catering hall to take part in a holiday party with kids and families from Beginnings, Inc. of Johnstown. It was great to watch the players and staff interact with more than 100 children and family members, which included the players doing some great versions of the Cupid Shuffle and Cha Cha Slide.
Check out some photos from the event.
