Jameson Taillon and Gerrit Cole, the Pirates' two top pitching prospects, pitched on consecutive days for Altoona on Tuesday and Wednesday as Taillon made his Class AA debut.
↵Taillon's debut was a strong one -- he pitched five scoreless innings against Trenton, striking out six and walking none while allowing four hits. His dominant outing was a bit of a departure from his work this year for Class A+ Bradenton, which was solid but not spectacular; one wonders if he'll be able to head into high gear in the upper minors after having worked on his fastball command at the low levels.
↵Cole didn't fare quite so well in his start on Wednesday, striking out four and walking four while allowing two runs in 4.2 innings. Nonetheless, his reunion with Taillon is a good thing for both of them:
↵↵↵And even after Cole was promoted from Bradenton earlier in the year, the two pitchers talked frequently, giving each other tips and talking about their games. When asked about being back on the same team with Cole, Taillon responded: "It’s fun to have my throwing partner back."
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