Jameson Taillon found a new toy this year, and he is anxious to play with it some more when spring training begins in mid-February.
Taillon began throwing a slider early in the season, and it helped him go 14-10 with a 3.20 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP in 32 starts along with 179 strikeouts in 191 innings for the Pirates. He tied Trevor Williams for the team lead in wins.
Taillon used the slider 18.2 percent of the time according to Brooks Baseball. He threw the four-seam fastball (35.2), sinker (22.2) and curveball (19.8) more frequently and also gave up more home runs off the slider than other any other pitch — six in 166 plate appearances.
However, the slider was effective by end of the season, and it put another seed in opposing hitters' minds that Taillon now had something else they had to be ready for.
"I pitched more aggressively once I added the slider because it gave me a pitch I could throw in all counts," Taillon said. "I added it randomly in a bullpen (session) between starts and was pretty much fight or flight with it. Now that I have a spring training to work on it, it's going to be great. I'll get more feedback from working with the catchers and the pitching coaches, as well as watching more video. I'm excited. I think it can take me to the next level."
Taillon reached a pretty high level in his third major league season.
On Saturday night, Taillon received the Chuck Tanner Memorial Award at the Rotary Club of Pittsburgh's Chuck Tanner Awards banquet at The Rivers Club in One Oxford Centre. The award is emblematic of the person who contributes the most to the Pirates in a given year.
Taillon sounds like a man who feels he can win it again.
"There is still more left in the tank, I really believe that. I can be better," Taillon, who turns 27 next Sunday, told DKPittsburghSports.com in an interview before the banquet.
Taillon feels sharpening the slider will help him improve in 2019. What Taillon doesn't say — he isn't one to make excuses — is that he should be even better after being another year removed from surgery for testicular cancer.
In five April starts in 2017, Taillon was 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA. He then was rocked for six runs in five innings in a loss at Cincinnati on May 3.
Doctors found cancerous tissue in Taillon's scrotum a few days later, and he underwent surgery. Remarkably, he returned five weeks later and pitched five scoreless innings June 12 to beat the Rockies at PNC Park.
However, Taillon was inconsistent the remainder of the season, going 5-6 with a 5.11 ERA in 18 starts.
"I think Jameson was on his way to having the type of season he had in 2018 in 2017 before the surgery," general manager Neal Huntington said. "He worked very hard to come back as soon as he could, and, in retrospect, we probably should not have allowed him to rush back. Everyone saw what he can do this year, though, and it's not a surprise. It was why we used the No. 2 overall pick in the draft on him."
Taillon was chosen in 2010 after his senior year of high school in The Woodlands, Texas. He was taken after the Nationals selected Bryce Harper and right before the Orioles took Manny Machado. While those two players have gone on to become stars, Tommy John surgery and an operation to repair a hernia delayed Taillon's arrival to the major leagues until 2016.
However, Taillon is healthy now, and he was just one of two pitchers in the major leagues this year who made at least 22 consecutive starts without allowing more than three earned runs. The Mets' Jacob deGrom had 29 to set the big-league record.
Off the field, Taillon also shined.
He was the Pirates' nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, which is presented by Major League Baseball to the player "who shows extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field." Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina was the winner.
"My two sons look up to Jameson as a role model, and that speaks volumes about the person he is," Huntington said. "He's everything you want in a son, everything you would want in a man you would want your daughter to marry."
In addition to getting the chance to hone his slider, Taillon is also looking forward to next season because he feels the Pirates can build on the momentum of 2018. They finished a surprising 82-79 and have the makings of an excellent starting rotation with Taillon, Williams, Chris Archer, Joe Musgrove and Ivan Nova.
"I'm excited to have Chris Archer for a full season," Taillon said. "I love pitching alongside Trevor. I'm excited to have Joe healthy for a full season. And Nova's always going to go out there and give you a good chance to win. I'm excited about what we can do as a rotation, and I'm excited about what we can do as a team. I think we're going to have a fun year in 2019."