As the editor at Bucs Dugout, I've opined plenty about my disenchantment with the current state of the Pirates' farm system. Occasionally it's nice, though, to highlight something that's going right, and the development of top prospect Jameson Taillon certainly qualifies. Taillon pitched six scoreless innings Thursday in the Bradenton Marauders' 16-3 defeat of Clearwater, and he now has 36 strikeouts and just seven walks in 34.2 innings so far this season, to go along with a 1.56 ERA. And he's doing it against older competition -- at 20, he's young for the league.
↵Because he's young, the Pirates will likely take their time with him. Their conservatism with him last year at West Virginia was a source of some misplaced hand-wringing; their approach seems to be working, and there's no reason to change it now. It does look likely that he'll make it to Class AA this season, though, which would give him a good chance of making the majors by late 2013 or early 2014. Taillon was an elite pitching prospect when he was drafted, and two years later, that's what he continues to be.
↵Here's a full recap of the Pirates' minor-league performances on Thursday.