Jameson Taillon's Consistency Is More Important To Cubs Than Dominance

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Image courtesy of © Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

Every season sports a stretch of demanding, mettle-testing contests that reveal the true identity of a professional baseball team. Weathering a squall of injuries to the starting rotation, the Chicago Cubs are in the midst of that stretch. Enter Jameson Taillon, the light house, the safe harbor in this current storm. Through excellent, consistently proficient performances, Taillon has the North Siders sailing into clear skies, 

Working in the shadows of much more high profile starters on contending teams, Taillon deserves mention with the likes of his No. 2/3 starter contemporaries. Taillon boasts a 7-3 record with a 3.48 ERA and over 81 innings pitched. He's on a streak of six quality starts in a row and eight of his last nine. While all of this is objectively impressive, it's Taillon's consistency that matters most. Victories always come at a staggering premium, but for a team whose performances against clubs with winning records leaves a little to be desired, throwing out a steady arm who doesn't flinch under pressure is invaluable. 

This is not meant to sound hyperbolic, but one could make a case that Jameson Taillon is the most important player on the team's pitching staff at the moment. There are several factors that make this true, but again, it boils down to his no-nonsense consistency. He totes six different pitches, perhaps most intriguing of which is a lethal curveball that quite frankly he should deploy more often. According to Baseball Savant, Taillon has set down thirteen batters on this pitch by way of strikeout, and batters have only managed a paltry .068 batting average. More than that, he hasn't given up a home run on this particular pitch. He still relies heavily on his four-seam fastball, which has also seen an uptick in proficiency, producing an 18.1% whiff rate. 

The sweet fragrance of sureness wafts over the bustling crowds at Wrigley when Taillon pitches in 2025. As things sit at this very moment, the Chicago Cubs are in complete control of their own destiny. There's no proof to support the claim that this club is vulnerable to a long slump, thanks to the presence of players seemingly immune to cold streaks. Jameson Taillon is, in no small part, a crucial piece to this squad's continued prominence. Like a reliable car, no Cubs fan should feel uneasy handing over the keys to let the vehicle take you safely to the destination. Out of sight of this campaign's checkered flag just yet, who could want more?

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