'Remarkable story' continues with Taillon's successful rehab start

Jameson Taillon threw a pitch against an opposing batter Sunday for the first time only 20 days after undergoing surgery to treat testicular cancer.

The right-hander made a rehab start for Double-A Altoona in Erie, throwing 47 pitches in three scoreless innings as he works his way back to the Pirates.



"It continues to be a remarkable story," Neal Huntington said before the Pirates game against the Mets Sunday night at PNC Park.

Taillon struck out six with one walk and allowed only one hit in his first start since May 3, when he allowed six runs in five innings at Cincinnati. He threw 29 strikes and a first-pitch strike to seven of the 11 batters he faced.

Clint Hurdle had not yet spoken to Taillon when he met with reporters prior to Sunday night's game against the Mets, but he received a full report on the rehab start from Pirates senior pitching coordinator Scott Mitchell. Taillon's changeup was inconsistent, but his fastball velocity sat at 95 mph and his sinker fooled hitters.

Hurdle said he will meet with Taillon to discuss the next step, but there's no sense of urgency or a timeline for a return to the Pirates.

"The one thing we don’t want to do is — because there are a lot of people in a hurry right now to see him pitch and they forget about the human being that’s tied to this whole deal," Hurdle said. "They think about the pitcher. We’re not going to be those people. We’re tied to the man. We’ll continue to have conversations that we need to have: “How’d you feel, what’d you gain from it, what was good, what do you need more work on?’ Things along those lines."

It was an increased workload from the bullpen sessions he threw earlier in the week, but there were no expectations tied to this start since Taillon has a ways to go in his return to the mound. He took groundballs at PNC Park Saturday afternoon, and is just beginning to get work as a hitter — two steps necessary for a return to the Pirates.

Taillon was placed on the 10-day disabled list with groin discomfort on May 6, and had surgery two days later at Allegheny General Hospital.

Huntington told reporters Sunday there was no thought of a possible return to baseball for Taillon once they received news of his diagnosis.

That remains the case after the first rehab start.

"Truth be told it will always continue to be that way as he continues to work through this, but once we began having him play catch again and actually think about being a pitcher again — from my perspective — to think about where he is today is incredible," he said. "There are some really good days, and probably some really hard days, ahead of us."

Taillon resumed light baseball workouts last week, and his follow-up appointment with doctors brought good news, clearing the way for him to throw his first 25-pitch bullpen session Tuesday in Atlanta. Taillon threw 35 more pitches on Thursday before a decision was made to send him on his first rehab start.

Fellow Pirates pitcher and close friend Chad Kuhl was not able to watch Taillon's rehab start, but was not surprised by the numbers he saw when he checked the box score.

"Honestly, it’s inspiring," Kuhl said. "Jeez, talking about a guy with a major health scare and he’s out there pitching just a couple weeks later, in the clubhouse. Just the way he’s handled himself is really awesome. He’s doing a lot better than I think a lot of people would."

Taillon was 2-1 with a 3.31 ERA and 1.33 WHIP in six starts with the Pirates this season. The 25-year-old started 18 games in 2016, finishing with a 5-4 record. Prior to that, though, the former No. 2 overall draft pick had a difficult time getting on the pitching mound.

Taillon missed the 2014 season following Tommy John surgery and then missed all of 2015 with lingering effects of that surgery. He then underwent surgery for a sports hernia, and finally reached the major leagues last June, finishing with a 5-4 record, a 3.38 ERA and 85 strikeouts against 17 walks in 104 innings.

Head athletic trainer Todd Tomczyk told reporters Wednesday in Atlanta the focus is preparing Taillon's body and arm for a return to pitching competitively with a regular throwing program.

 

Taillon will have bloodwork done once every "few weeks," and will have regular checkups with doctors. The current reports, though, have the Pirates encouraged that he is ready to return to baseball.

"Our hope is he is a baseball player again and we work to get him back to be the best baseball player that we can," Huntington said.

Another rehab start is likely, possibly as soon as this week, but the priority remains to take the process slow. That length of that process will be determined by how Taillon feels, and Hurdle would not rule out a return to the major leagues being sooner rather than later.

"With this kid, ya know, who knows," Hurdle said. "We’ll just see. We’ll take it one day at a time. That’s what he’s going to do, and we’ll see where he’s going to get us and when he’s going to get us there."