Jameson Taillon has quietly cemented his spot in the Chicago Cubs' rotation

There were some reservations among Chicago Cubs fans when veteran righty Jameson Taillon was given a four-year, $68 million deal prior to the 2023 season. While he’d been a solid starter throughout his career, the deal was on the bigger side for a low-mid rotation starter. But, starter innings come at a premium price these days.

Those initial reservations were validated when Taillon posted a dismal 6.93 ERA, 5.14 FIP, and .870 OPS against in his first 14 starts as a Cub. In 9 of those starts, he was charged with 4+ earned runs, and only once did he complete six innings. He did not always seem to trust his stuff and he had trouble putting guys away when he got ahead. The professional that he is, Taillon worked hard at making adjustments and improving his craft, as documented by The Athletic's Sahadev Sharma.

It was start No. 15 as a Cub when he went to his old stomping grounds at Yankee Stadium on July 7, 2023, and pitched 8 shutout innings, only giving up 1 hit. Including that start, Taillon has since pitched to a 3.30 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 4.03 FIP, 7.24 K/9, and 1.9 BB/9 in 256 innings (44 appearances, 43 of them starts). He has averaged nearly six innings per start and has surrendered 4+ earned runs in only nine starts.

To put that in perspective, he gave up 49 earned runs in his first 14 starts and has given up 143 earned runs total as a Cub in 58 appearances. In those first 14 starts, he gave up a third (34%) of his total earned runs in a Cubs uniform.

Over a larger sample size, we have seen an effective starter in Taillon. He has been able to keep the team in games and pitch fairly deep, by 2024 standards. While not an overpowering pitcher, and one who can give up some hard contact, he has been able to get desirable results and pitch with exceptional command. In 2024 alone he had the seventh-lowest walk rate among qualified starters in baseball. Being a strike thrower while not missing a ton of bats is better when there's a mostly reliable defense behind you.

Jameson Taillon is exactly the veteran stability the Chicago Cubs need in their rotation.

Is Taillon ever going to be a Cy Young contender or frontman in a rotation? No. He is a career 3.89 ERA and 3.93 FIP pitcher over eight seasons, which while not top rotation worthy, is more than respectable for a mid-low rotation starter. Somewhat similar to a guy like Jason Hammel was for the Cubs during those contending years in 2015-2016, though Hammel had a bit more swing-and-miss and came at a great value. Taillon will always seem a bit more on the expensive side for what type of pitcher he is, but you might as well get your money's worth as best as possible.

Even if there is a bit of regression next year from his 3.27 ERA this season, pitching to a 3.8-ish ERA and 3.8-4-ish FIP would suffice as a lower-end starter. There is enough sample on the back of the baseball card to have us believe he can have another solid year in 2025.