Jameson Taillon’s first 11 months in Pittsburgh followed a framework that we’d all seen before; he’d fought his way here.
He was a high draft pick — No. 2 overall in 2010 — and a top prospect, working his way through the Pirates’ farm system and landing in Class AAA as a 21-year-old.
Then, he ran into arm issues, having the obligatory Tommy John surgery in the spring of 2014 and sitting out a full season. Then, he ran into core issues, dealing with a sports hernia that nuked his comeback in 2015 before it could begin.