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| Photo credit: Charles LeClaire/USA Today Sport |
Jameson Taillon with take the mound tonight at PNC Park for the first time in his career as an opponent of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Jameson Taillon will return to the PNC Park mound tonight for the first time as an opponent of the Pittsburgh Pirates. He had a Pirates career that was defined by injury, recovery, triumph and more injury. Drafted 2nd overall in 2010 at 18 years-old out of high school, Taillon didn’t find his way to the big leagues until 2016.
It appeared Taillon would be ready to start alongside phenom
pitcher Gerrit Cole in 2014. However, it
was announced that he’d need to undergo Tommy John Surgery, and miss all of the
2014 season. Then, after recovering from
TJS, Taillon suffered a sports hernia that would require surgery, ending his
2015 season as well. After back-to-back
years of recovery, he finally debuted in 2016.
2016 was a decent year for Taillon, one that would result in
the Pirates missing the playoffs after three straight seasons of postseason
appearances. Taillon went 5-4 with a
3.38 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. He was also
able to eclipse 100 innings pitched which was quite the milestone for the
injury-ridden pitcher.
The 2017 season would start off well for Taillon, and it
appeared he was ready to take a big step forward. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with
testicular cancer and the surgery that followed caused him to miss most of May
and part of June. Luckily, he would
return healthy and strong, starting 19 games after the surgery. He posted just a 4.44 ERA and 1.48 WHIP on the
season, but who could blame him after what he went through.
2018 was finally Taillon’s time to remain healthy and pitch effectively
as an ace. He’d post a career-best 3.20
ERA in 32 starts. For a guy as injury-ridden
as Taillon, it could be seen as a miracle for him to nearly pitch 200 innings
in a season, finishing with 191 innings pitched. He
would also lead the National League with two complete games, one for a
shutout. At 26 years old, Taillon was
turning the corner and showing he could be the ace of a rotation for years to
come.
Unfortunately, Taillon wouldn’t be able to build off of his great
2018 season before getting bit again by the injury bug. After just seven starts, he’d suffer a flexor
strain that resulted in his second Tommy John surgery. He wouldn’t pitch again until 2021 and that
start on May 1st, 2019 would be his last appearance for the
Pittsburgh Pirates.
It was unsure how Taillon would return from his second TJS. The procedure had certainly been enhanced
over the years but very few cases occur where the pitcher has to undergo two of
them at such a young age. With that
uncertainty, and the Pirates' new GM Ben Cherington in full selloff mode, the
Pirates traded Taillon to the New York Yankees for a haul of prospects. Despite not having pitched in a year and a
half, the Yankees were willing to take the risk, completing the trade in
January of 2021.
In return, the Pirates received right-handed pitcher Miguel
Yajure, right-handed pitcher Roansy Contreras, outfielder Canaan Smith-Njigba,
and shortstop Maikol Escotto. If you are
familiar with the Pirates Top 30 prospects page on MLB.com, you are very familiar
with all of these names. Additionally,
Contreras and Yajure have now received a decent amount of playing time at the
major league level, and a Smith-Njigba had a cup of coffee in the big leagues before suffering an
injury that would land him on the 60-day Injured List. However, from a surface level it would appear
the Pirates got quite the return for a guy that hadn’t pitched in a year and a
half and was coming off of his 2nd TJS.
Now in his 2nd season with the Yankees, Taillon
will take the hill tonight against the Pirates for the first time in his career. He carries with him a very impressive 9-1
record, and a decent 3.32 ERA. He
started the season red-hot with a 2.30 ERA in his first 10 starts. Since then, he has cooled off a little,
giving up 3+ earned runs in four of his last five starts.
So despite his rocky and injury-ridden career with the Pirates, Taillon was always seen as a fighter. He went through more than most should have to by the age of 30. He unfortunately didn't turn out to be one of the Pirates aces as he was projected to be, so opinions of Taillon are scattered among the fan base. Regardless, he will receive a standing ovation when he takes the mound tonight, and with what he went through, and battled back from, in Pittsburgh, it will be well deserved.