It would have been easy for the Pirates to go a safer route at this pick, but Taillon was the best talent available and in baseball, that’s the way your supposed to draft.  There are certainly risks, though.  First off, like all pitching prospects, and especially the high school variety,there is always the chance of injury or flameout.  From what everyone says about how good his stuff is, flameout seems unlikely, but you just never know with pitching prospects.  There’s also the cost.  It’s hard to say exactly what it will take to sign him (I’ve heard everything from 4 Million to 8 Million), but rest assured the Neal Huntington and company wouldn’t have drafted Taillon if they didn’t think they could sign him to a contract.  Whatever the final number is, it’s going to be significantly overslot, and MLB always sits on those deals until the last minute, which means he’ll be signed on deadline day, and likely won’t show up in a box score until sometime in 2011.

Tallion was the Pirates only day 1 pick (1st & sandwich rounds).  Looking ahead slightly to day 2, there are 2 names that stand out for as solid options for the Pirates 2nd round pick, 52nd overall.  James Paxton and  Stetson Allie.  Paxton was drafted last year as a pitcher out of the University of Kentucky, didn’t sign, then lost his college eligibility due to issues around his representation.  He pitched briefly this year in independent ball, but wasn’t impressive.  Nonetheless, he was a top pitching prospect last year and was rated by Keith Law of ESPN as the #21 overall prospect in this years draft, and getting that kind of talent in the second round, assuming they can sign him, would be a nice addition.  Stetson Allie is a hard throwing lefty from St. Edwards HS in Ohio.  He’s destined for the bullpen, and has almost no command or control currently, but he is the hardest throwing pitcher in this draft, and guys who can throw 100 MPH don’t grow on trees.  There are probably a handful of other guys who slid out of the first day of the draft who would be good additions to the Pirates system, but those are the 2 I’m targeting now.