ST. LOUIS — For years, Jameson Taillon had heard the advice: Throw your off-speed pitches like a fastball. The Pirates right-hander never got it.
“Go ask Adam Wainwright if he throws his curveball like a fastball,” said Taillon, referring to the St. Louis Cardinals right-hander and owner of one of the best curveballs of the past two decades. “He has one finger up in the air when he throws his.”
When Taillon started throwing a slider, the saying clicked.
Previously, Taillon threw four-seam and two-seam fastballs, an excellent curveball and a mediocre changeup that required constant work to harness.