Francisco Liriano was scheduled to be Wednesday’s starter, but his start was pushed back to Saturday. This meant that someone had to take his place and the Pirates decided that it would be on one of its top prospects, Jameson Taillon.
Normally Indianapolis Indians manager Dean Treanor pranks promoted players in front of his teammates but the immediate situation meant that would not happen this time.
“My heart was racing,” Taillon said to reporters of the call-up. “I gave my parents a call right away. I watched Netflix in bed in Columbus, rolled over and texted my girlfriend good night. Had some missed calls from numbers I didn’t have a name for. It was Dean Treanor, and he gave me the news.”
Taillon had a rough couple of years before working back up to this point, as he dealt with Tommy John surgery and the complications and delays which followed.
“As an 18-year-old, I don’t think this is the path I saw myself taking when you are that young and naïve,” he said. “It’s my journey, it’s my path and what was dealt. to me. That makes it sweeter.”
That’s not to say these past two years haven’t been a good learning experience.
“The two years I was away from the game, I put in work and got better,” said Taillon. “Mentally I came back strong. I wasn’t worried about the results, it was all about getting out there and competing. The same stuff that got hitters out in 2013 gets them out now. I kept my confidence, and I definitely believed myself coming into the year.”
Taillon will have a tough first start as he faces a challenging Mets lineup and their pitcher for the night Noah Syndergaard (6-2, 1.91 ERA). He hopes sticking with the basics will allow for him to make a good first impression.
“I’m going to try and slow down the game the best I can,” Taillon said. “The hitters get better and there are more fans in the stands, but I need to fill up the strike zone, be confident and throw power stuff down and in on the zone.”
Photo credit: @Pirates
