Top Pirates prospect Jameson Taillon skipped a start at Triple-A this week, but not because he’s hurt, writes MLB.com’s Adam Berry. “Taillon is strong and healthy, but as we look to monitor his and other pitchers’ workload to put them in a position to finish the season strongly, we will periodically look to reduce pitch counts by removing the pitcher from a game early or by skipping a start,” says GM Neal Huntington. Pirates fans are anxious for Taillon’s big-league debut, a day that could potentially come in June, after the Super Two threshold passes. After missing two seasons due to injury, Taillon has been outstanding for Triple-A Indianapolis, posting a 1.82 ERA, 9.3 K/9 and a measly 0.9 BB/9 in 49 1/3 innings. Here’s more from the NL Central.
- Cardinals hitters Matt Adams and Randal Grichuk got off to slow starts this season but have come up huge lately, ESPN’s Mark Saxon writes. Adams is batting .382/.433/.673 in May, while Grichuk is hitting .273/.333/.481 this month after batting just .182 in April. Adams’ resurgence is perhaps the more notable of the two, given the big lefty’s disappointing .240/.280/.377 showing last year. “This is the kind of player we saw coming up through the system,” says manager Mike Matheny of Adams. “We were just kind of waiting for it to happen at this level and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be happening now.”
- Brewers starter Matt Garza, who’s missed the entire season thus far with a lat issue, will begin a rehab assignment with Class A Wisconsin on Tuesday, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy tweets. Garza says he hopes to return to the Brewers June 14. The Brewers are just 22-26 and don’t look like contenders, so it’s doubtful Garza’s return will have an immediate impact, especially given that he posted just a 5.63 ERA, 6.3 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 2015. If he does return in June, though, a performance closer to his 2014 (3.64 ERA, 6.9 K/9, 2.8 BB/9) could potentially make him a summer trade candidate.
glasnow and taillion have been ready. The bucs need to secure Cole first.
Glasnow’s offspeed stuff is not MLB ready. He is good enough to dominate AAA hitters, but big leaguers will sit on his fastball and crush it.
No chance whatsoever of securing Cole. Boras won’t allow it.
Best the Pirates can hope for out of Cole is that he declines the qualifying offer they will attach to him. Wouldn’t shock me if he was traded the winter before his last season under contract either, although it would need to be a sizable return.
And they have enough good prospects. He just may be expendable by then.
Taillon and Glasnow will hopefully be worth the wait. The Bucs need to be careful with the finances and the player control, but it’s also in their best interest not to rush these guys, especially true for Taillon coming off the injury. With their good recent track record of developing pitchers, I am content to be on their schedule and wait.
Will the Cardinals make a package run at Mike Trout? Beginning the trade with Matt Adams, Kolton Wong,
And two top Minor league pitchers, including Reyes?
You’re not even close to getting started with that.
You’d have to start with giving them Grichuck back, add in Wacha, then start including guys like Alex Reyes, Luke Weaver, Marco Gonzalez, and Edmundo Sosa ( Maybe all 4), before throwing in a Adams or Wong to seal the deal. He’s the best player in the game, and he’s super young.