Pittsburgh Pirates top pitching prospect Jameson Taillon has been replaced on the Scottsdale Scorpions roster by right-handed pitcher Phil Irwin. No word yet on why Taillon was removed. Irwin was originally scheduled to go to the AFL, but was held back in the Fall Instructional League. The last I heard on Irwin’s status, he was pitching in instructs, and his remaining off-season work would be TBD.
Taillon only threw two innings in his first start in the AFL. He gave up an unearned run on one hit and one walk, striking out three. In the outing, he threw 35 pitches, with 23 strikes. It would be strange if the Pirates sent Taillon to the AFL for just one start and two innings. I’ll update this when I hear more.
UPDATE 12:55 PM: Jonathan Mayo says that Taillon left the AFL due to a tweaked groin. So the good news is that it’s not something that could be a long term issue. The bad news is that Taillon probably won’t get extra work this off-season.
