Jameson Taillon has already hit 25 starts so far this season, and barring a disaster in Tuesday’s start against the Angels, he will eclipse 130 innings of work in his debut campaign with the Yankees.
For Taillon, who spent last season recovering from his second Tommy John surgery, the workload itself is a cause for celebration. The health of Taillon’s arm was a serious question when the Yanks traded for him this past offseason, but so far, he has been a consistent presence in the rotation, on his way to turning in a full and productive season.
“Number one, my goal was to stay healthy and make all my starts, and I’ve done a pretty good job of that to this point,” Taillon said. “Shows me the work I’ve done and my routine is good. But again, just have to keep adjusting from start to start, pitch to pitch, team to team, stuff like that, but definitely happy that I’ve stayed healthy.”
Manager Aaron Boone eased Taillon into the season with five, sometimes six days off in between starts to begin the year, and the righty struggled early on, holding a 5.43 ERA at the end of June. But in his 10 starts since, Taillon has held an ERA of 2.67, becoming one of the Yankees’ most reliable arms to help make up for the loss of Corey Kluber and the much-delayed return of Luis Severino.
“I probably didn’t think I would have as much rest as I wound up having in the beginning of the year,” Taillon said. “But I feel like we worked through that pretty well, I feel like the delivery has settled into a nice spot, so I’m happy with all that.”
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Heading into his 26th start of the season, Taillon holds a 4.18 ERA through 127 innings of work. He has struck out 125 batters and, most importantly, has stayed healthy. That is likely a level of production that both he and the Yankees would have been ecstatic about if it was presented to them as soon as the trade with the Pirates was completed.
“Being a guy who going into this year was 700 days or something since I last threw a big league pitch, being able to get to this level and be able to contribute to a really good team in a playoff push, staying stubborn with my routine, getting my work in, staying on top of my treatment for my arm, things like that, I’m pretty proud of,” Taillon said.
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