During the offseason, the Tribune-Review will offer Pirates A to Z, an alphabetical player-by-player look at the 40-man roster, from outfielder Anthony Alford to pitcher Nik Turley.
Jameson Taillon
Position: Pitcher
Throws: Right
Age: 29
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 230 pounds
2020 MLB statistics: Did not play while recovering from Tommy John surgery in August 2019.
Contract: Enters second year of arbitration eligibility after agreeing to a salary of $2.25 million in 2020.
Acquired: Drafted by the Pirates in the first round in 2010.
This past season: Instead of a rehabilitation, Taillon treated his second Tommy John surgery like it was an opportunity for reinvention.
The Pirates’ ace came to the realization his throwing motion was getting him hurt. He also had TJ surgery in 2014 and endured groin and hernia injuries in the minors, so Taillon knew a change to his delivery was necessary even before his latest right elbow injury.
“I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to change. I knew something had to change,” Taillon said. “So I got hurt, and that’s kind of when I said, ‘OK, I’m going all in on this.’ … It’s tricky to change the way you throw, the way you’ve been throwing since you’re a kid. But I came to the realization that, two Tommy Johns kind of lets you know that what you’re doing isn’t isn’t working. Something has to change.”
But deciding to do it 10 years into his professional career wasn’t easy.
“Making a mechanical change when you’re at the highest level you can be at in our game is scary,” Taillon said. “It’s tough. But it’s something that I had to do.”
Foot strike Nov. 2018 vs Foot Strike Nov 2020. Looks a little tiny bit different ? pic.twitter.com/pNeWG4CM46
— Jameson Taillon (@JTaillon19) November 5, 2020
So Taillon focused on his lower body first. He concentrated on his back leg, keeping his back foot on the mound longer so he wouldn’t come up on his toes. Concentrating on his foundation allowed for a smoother motion that shortened the arm action on his delivery.
One of these throwing motions used to feel really natural (which is scary), and one currently has become really natural through lots of intentional/focused work. Crazy to take a step back and look at every once in a while! pic.twitter.com/HelH6zFQoc
— Jameson Taillon (@JTaillon19) November 28, 2020
“If you were to put a ball in my hand now, I think I would throw in that shorter, cleaner method,” Taillon said. “So I’m feeling healthy. It’s assisting with that. And I think the results are going to be pretty nice, too. I think I’m going to have some added deception that I never had before.”
First time throwing a curveball off the mound since May of 2019. This pitch hurt by far the most to throw prior to surgery. It’s actually fun to throw these again! pic.twitter.com/vTZMAHWldp
— Jameson Taillon (@JTaillon19) August 4, 2020
In the meantime, Taillon celebrated every milestone, from his first time throwing a baseball to his first time throwing off the mound to his first time facing live batters.
“That’s something that I really took from the first one: No milestone is too small, so it’s OK to be really excited about that first bullpen or the first time facing hitters,” Taillon said. “It’s OK to be really fired up about it.”
Ramping down the rehab. Some light catch to end the season. Excited to take everything I’ve learned from this rehab journey into a healthy and full offseason! Going to keep the momentum going right into next year. pic.twitter.com/fnYxmlsy2w
— Jameson Taillon (@JTaillon19) September 23, 2020
By mid-September, Taillon was throwing two innings of live batting practice and preparing for a three-inning outing. Pirates manager Derek Shelton said Taillon was lobbying for a chance to pitch in a game, despite being only 13 months removed from a surgery that generally requires a 16- to 18-month rehab.
“It’s been outstanding,” Shelton said. “Every time he takes the mound it makes me smile. When he walks off the mound it makes me smile. The closer he gets back, it’s really cool.”
The future: Taillon also used his rehab to take a deep dive into analytics, studying spin rate, spin efficiency and release points.
All of it was invigorating to Taillon, who remained upbeat during the process and said his elbow felt “amazing,” and his pitches are “a little sharper.” He said his velocity on his four-seamer still sits in the mid-90s, and his spin rate has improved. His fastball was at 2,350 rpm in 2018, and Taillon vowed he is going to be a more aggressive pitcher.
“The command’s probably ahead of where I thought it would be,” Taillon said. “I’m throwing three pitches for strikes, still working on a changeup. I think that’ll be my whole career. Stuff’s been really good. Fastball’s where I’m used to having it. Spin rate’s been going up a little bit. My vertical breaks been going up a little bit. Spin efficiency has gotten better throughout the rehab. So there’s a lot of bright spots. Breaking balls are spinning exactly how they were before, (with) the same velocity. So it’s been good feedback.”
The best feedback came from his coaches and teammates, who were impressed with Taillon’s ahead-of-schedule progress as he spent summer camp and the season working out at PNC Park.
“It’s going to be great when we have everybody back because Jamo’s our ace,” said Pirates lefty Steven Brault, the team’s pitcher of the year. “He’s a real top-of-the-rotation ace pitcher. Yeah, we would love to have him back. But we also want him healthy for the rest of his career.”
The unknown is how Taillon will fare returning from a second Tommy John surgery, whether he can return to being a starter or is better suited for the bullpen. He threw 191 innings in 2018, including a pair of complete games, but the Pirates could bring him along slowly like they did with Chad Kuhl last season.
“There’s not a ton of data on guys that have had two,” Taillon said. “I’d be really curious how many guys that have had two have had complete mechanical overhauls and changes. I’m thinking that the mechanical positions I’m putting myself in will allow me to be a starter more so than before, and I know my stuff plays as a starter and I know I can do it physically and mentally.
“We’ll see coming into spring training next year where we’re at as an organization and as a team and where I’m at. Yeah, if anyone can do it, I think I can. I think I’ve put myself in the right positions to do it.”
