CINCINNATI — While Jameson Taillon was squeezing putty and throwing bullpens as part of his recovery from Tommy John surgery nearly four years ago, Manny Machado and Bryce Harper — two players drafted with him in the first round — were already labeled as generational talents.
Yet Taillon, 23 at the time, never doubted his talent. Not through the Tommy John. Not through a testicular cancer diagnosis. Not through those long days of recovery at Pirate City.
This season, one he capped Saturday with seven strikeouts in a 3-0 loss to the Reds at Great American Ball Park, saw Taillon finish with 32 starts, the final 22 of those ceding three or fewer earned runs -- one of two starters in the majors to accomplish that this season, the first for the Pirates since Bob Friend in 1963 -- a 3.20 ERA that ranks ninth among qualified National League starters, and a team-high 179 strikeouts.
He led a staff that is now the foundation of the Pirates.
"Man, it’s been a crazy journey," Taillon beamed after exhaling. "To be able to look back and have a year like this, I think this will be a big one to springboard me going forward. That’s part of the reason why I wanted to make this start so bad. I wanted to be able to have that prideful feeling of making every start for this team and being a guy that our position players can go look at the lineup card and knowing it’s supposed to be my day, [that they'll be] seeing my name in there every single time."
It wasn't his finest effort. He was tagged for three runs on seven hits over six innings, taking the loss to drop the Pirates' record to 81-79 entering the final day of the season. Still, Taillon marveled at what he accomplished and expressed excitement for what's next.
Taillon will turn 27 in November and isn't arbitration-eligible until 2020. This was his second full season in the rotation, but his first pitching from start to finish — he missed time last year after undergoing testicular cancer surgery. He struggled in the second half upon returning last June, posting a 5.96 ERA and 1.61 WHIP in his final 14 starts. The final stat line was still impressive: 133 2/3 innings with 125 strikeouts to 46 walks and eight wins. He explained this offseason how a messy delivery led to that difficult stretch and expressed optimism that he knew how he needed to feel on the mound to operate at his best. There was also a determination to physically prepare himself to make 30-plus starts since his cancer diagnosis limited him to 25 last season.
His second start of this season was a complete game one-hitter against the Reds, and he followed with six shutout innings in Miami, only to allow 12 runs over his next two outings. After getting tagged for six runs in Cincinnati on May 22, Taillon decided to go full-bore with a project he introduced to Ray Searage in spring training.
Taillon implemented a slider to complement his curveball and keep hitters off both his fastballs. The pitch was the catalyst in a run unlike any the franchise has seen in 55 years. Entering his final start, the slider accounted for 18.3 percent of his pitches and produced a whiff rate of 24.4 percent with a .226 opponents' batting average. In turn, each of his other pitches have produced better results. The whiff rate on his four-seam fastball is up nearly nine percent from last season, and opponents were batting only .202 against the pitch. Additionally, Taillon threw more four-seam fastballs this season than he did a year ago, while his two-seam fastball became only a complimentary pitch.
"It got better and better and better," Searage recalled prior to undergoing cervical neck surgery this month. "When he kept throwing it in the 'pen, the feel started coming around with it. He realized what he needed to do. We talked about it in spring training and all of a sudden he popped it in there. I'm like, 'OK, that's good, if you're comfortable with it than I'm good with it, because I know you're going to throw it with conviction.'"
After this final start, Taillon spoke in detail of how he achieved a deeper understanding about what works best for him on the mound, lineup management, controlling his emotions and how to respond after a difficult outing:
His evolution goes well beyond the pitch mix or sequences. Francisco Cervelli, Taillon's catcher for 20 starts this season, noted improved composure in high-stress situations. That is best illustrated by Taillon's 0.98 WHIP with runners in scoring position, which ranks in the top five percent in the majors.
That's one of a number of indicators that show how Taillon has blossomed into the front-line starter many projected him to become before his draft day eight years ago. His 3.5 wins above replacement rank 11th among NL starters and his 3.61 xFIP is ninth. He also ranks 12th in WHIP (1.18) and his park-adjusted ERA is 24 percent better than the major league average. Taillon's also just one of two starters in the majors to make at least 20 straight starts while allowing three or fewer runs, joining the Mets Jacob deGrom, the likely Cy Young Award winner.
Dating back to June 1, his 2.63 ERA ranks fifth in the majors, and he finished his season with 20 quality starts. His 14 wins are tied with Trevor Williams for the team lead. Hurdle recalled that this emergence was predicted by a few of the Pirates' scouts when they tracked Taillon's progress through the minor leagues, and it may have begun in March 2013 — 13 months before Tommy John surgery — when he pitched 4 1/3 innings for Team Canada against Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, a performance Hurdle recalled after his starter again illustrated how far he's come in four years.
"I’m going to come up short," Hurdle said. "Today’s game was a really good finish to a very professional season. … The biggest thing that worked well for him this year was being able to establish a baseball routine and just a normal lifestyle routine. He’s had so many different things happen and dealt with adversity a couple different ways that he showed who he’s become, who he’s still growing into. It’s been fun to watch him and it was really fun to watch his teammates respond to him as he finished his game up today, finished up the season."
1. Dickerson to stay at .300.
Corey Dickerson's single through the left side in the sixth inning gave him a .300 average for the season and it will stay right there. Hurdle removed Dickerson for a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning to prevent the average from dropping, and it appears Dickerson won't play in the season finale, either. It's the manager's way to honor an accomplishment that's become more rare in the game.
"He would never take himself out of the game," Hurdle said. "He earned it and the thing about Corey, if that hit wouldn’t have happened there would have been a fourth at-bat and there would have been a game tomorrow. That’s just the way the kid does it. I guess it’s a football term: He carries water and chops wood. … He does it every day. He doesn’t talk about himself."
That offense wasn't enough, though. Eugenio Suarez hit a two-run homer off Taillon in the third and another run scored when Dickerson made an exceptional throw home on a single by Michael Lorenzen in the fourth inning, but Jacob Stallings dropped the ball when attempting to tag Dilson Herrera. If Dickerson's season is indeed finished, he'll have a .300/.330/.474 slash line with 35 doubles, 13 home runs and 55 RBIs. Oh, and there's a chance he could win the Gold Glove for NL left fielders.
"I think it's rare in these days the way everyone is doing the launch angle or what's valuable to you or what your thoughts are," Dickerson said. " For certain players it's different, but to be a .300 hitter, I don't know if that will ever go away. To be able to accomplish that over a full season is very tough."
2. Bell trying to finish strong.
"I'm searching."
That was Josh Bell's description when asked early Saturday afternoon about his plan for the offseason. He'll head back to Dallas to workout with his father — he doesn't have a different trainer — and will use the same regimen that helped him remain healthy this season, aside from one stint on the disabled list with a left oblique strain.
Bell, who went 1 for 3 with a strikeout and a walk Saturday, didn't come close to fulfilling his lofty expectations. He's hit 11 home runs with 61 RBIs entering the final game of the season, though his .356 on-base percentage is an improvement from last season. The first baseman is also finishing strong with a .262 average and .762 OPS in September. There's no question he's their most important player entering next season. This lineup needs him to produce the way he did a year ago with 26 home runs and 90 RBIs.
His defense also needs to improve after he regressed in his second full season in the majors. To Bell's credit, he's taken ownership of that responsibility. He's determined to find an answer, and Hurdle seems convinced that a solution has been found. This offense needs power and Bell can provide that.
3. Final starts for Mercer, Harrison?
Good by Hurdle to give Jordy Mercer and Josh Harrison at least one final start before both likely depart this offseason. They batted sixth and seventh respectively in the order, and Harrison even singled in the second inning. Mercer left the game in the fifth inning after being hit in the forearm with a one-hopper in the first. This day was particularly special for Harrison given this is his hometown. It was a fine way to honor what they've given the Pirates.
Hurdle could have easily put Kevin Newman at shortstop with Frazier or Kevin Kramer at second base. After all, those three will all be competing for prominent roles next spring, while the two veterans are likely to be elsewhere. Mercer ranks seventh in team history with 771 games played at shortstop, trailing Gene Alley by 205 for sixth place. Yet, he's played only 11 games since coming off the disabled list Aug. 29.
Harrison, meanwhile, has appeared in 842 games for the Pirates and is a two-time All-Star. Huntington has implicitly said the second baseman won't return — he's given Frazier a public vote of confidence and hasn't mentioned Harrison when asked of next season's middle infield options. Harrison has a $10.5 million club option for next season, but he can be bought out for $1 million and underperformed this season with a .654 OPS.
