Today we look at the Cubs’ veteran right-handed starter.
Jameson Lee Taillon was born in Lakeland, Florida, 34 years ago. He was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2010 June Amateur Draft, going to the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he toiled for four years, recorded 29 wins against 24 losses, and looked every bit of a decent young pitcher after getting to The Show.
He was traded to the Yankees, where he went 22-11, with a meh year and a really good year before he was signed by the Cubs. He’s now 82-60, 3.87
after three years on the North Side, where he’s been a serviceable rotation arm, possibly the most dependable on the squad. He’s been relatively good each year in Chicago, and there’s no reason why he shouldn’t have another year in his arm. He’s in the 1,000+ career strikeout club and can slot into any spot in the rotation.
His lifetime 15.4 bWAR (18.8 fWAR) in 11 years attests to his abilities. He’s also been to the postseason twice, with middling results.
He doesn’t walk very many batters. He also doesn’t strike out a lot of them. He doesn’t allow a lot of hits. He’s one of those guys that pitches to contact and lets the defense work. That plays in Chicago, where the defense never rests.
Projections have him generally around .500, 9-9 or so. 7K/9, 2.0+ BB/9, which isn’t bad. I suspect he’ll win a couple more games than that with relative health. Your guess is as good as anyone’s.
