I got my first live look of Taillon during his May 29th start at Pawtucket. Much like Glasnow, the first thing that stood out to me was the desirable frame, listed at 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds. Despite being listed at 15-pounds heavier than Glasnow, I thought Taillon looked a lot more lean than Glasnow. Taillon’s fastball sat 94-to-96 mph with some arm-side run when down, and was able to get it in on right-handed hitters, shattering two bats in the process. Despite the velocity and movement early, Taillon was only able to generate one swing-and-miss with the fastball over six innings pitched.

The command and control are far ahead of Glasnow presently. The present average curveball was 80-to-81 mph, and I put a future 60 grade on the pitch. It has a true 12-to-6 break and he shows the ability to also back-door it to left-handed hitters. The pitch lacked consistent shape, but flashed plus on occasion. The changeup was 85-to-89 mph and was below average, and often left up in the zone as he struggled with his release point. Taillon is quick to the plate from the stretch, ranging from 1.15-1.28 seconds, which enables him to manage the running game. Much like Glasnow, I don’t see Taillon as a future top of the rotation guy based on this outing. Rather, he’s more likely a solid mid-rotation starter as a result of his inconsistent breaking ball, and the below-average changeup I saw in this viewing. This is not a knock on Taillon by any means; a solid #4 starting pitcher is a rare find, and a golden nugget sitting in any organization.