Top Pitching Prospects To Be United
PITTSBURGH (93-7 THE FAN) -- The Pirates have promoted 20-year-old pitcher Jameson Taillon to the Altoona Curve, the club's Double-A affiliate, it was announced Friday afternoon. This pairs Taillon with Curve starter Gerrit Cole, the other top pitching prospect in the Pirates' system.
Taillon (6'6", 234 lbs.), the second pick of the 2010 MLB Amateur Draft, and the second-best prospect in the organization, according to Baseball America, is slated to make his Curve debut in Trenton this approaching Tuesday. His first home start will be next Sunday at 6:00 against Richmond at People's Natural Gas Field.
The Woodlands High School (The Woodlands, TX) graduate went 6-8 with a 3.82 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in 23 starts for the High-A Bradenton Marauders this year. He struck 98 and walked 37 in 123 innings of work, earning a spot in the Florida Atlantic League All-Star Game, and twice receiving the league's Pitcher of the Week Award (most recently July 30-Aug. 6).
Meanwhile, Cole, the top pick in the 2011 MLB Amateur Draft, and top Pirate prospect according to Baseball America, is coming off a tough-luck 2-1 loss at Portland Thursday. He is 3-5 at Altoona with a 3.19 ERA and 1.17 WHIP, along with a 4:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Taillon was ranked the No. 15 overall prospect in Major League Baseball by Baseball America entering the 2012 season, with Cole coming in at No. 12.
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