Jameson Taillon's Spring Struggles and Ben Brown's Spring Surge - Bleacher Nation

"While all of the above is true, it is also true that (1) you don't want to see abysmal results too close to the regular season because that's when pitchers often are trying to flip the switch into get-outs mode, and (2) you get a little more concerned about bad results when those bad results are tethered to some kind of physical concern."

"That doesn't mean you overreact or rule out the possibility of flukiness, combined with the introductory stuff, causing spring numbers that don't really mean anything about what would come when the bell rings. That's still possible. But I do think the Cubs and Jameson Taillon need to figure out for sure whether it's all just a fluke, or whether there's something fundamentally concerning happening."

"Taillon believes the struggles stem from a mix of mechanical problems within his delivery and mental challenges now that he's had a few bad spring outings. Taillon speculated he might be pitching away from contact a little bit because of the hard contact he's allowed."

While poor spring training results from veteran pitchers are typically overlooked due to small sample sizes and different conditions, concerns arise when bad results occur close to the regular season and coincide with physical issues or velocity changes. Jameson Taillon's recent outing against the Dodgers—3.1 innings with 10 earned runs, 8 hits, and 4 walks—combined with decreased velocity and previous home run-laden performances, justifies legitimate concern. Though flukiness remains possible, the Cubs and Taillon must determine whether underlying problems exist with his health, mechanics, grip, or pitch tipping rather than attributing everything to spring training variance.

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