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The Pirates have announced that Jameson Taillon will make his major league debut tomorrow. He had been scheduled to pitch tomorrow for Indianapolis, so the start will give him his typical amount of rest.
It appeared likely the Bucs would make some sort of move when yesterday's cancellation led to a doubleheader today. The Pirates had previously had Jon Niese pitching on short rest Saturday, and it seemed somewhat unlikely that would actually happen. The Bucs' pitching plans for the rest of the week haven't been announced. I'm guessing, however, that Juan Nicasio will probably eventually come out of the rotation, and that Taillon is here to stay, although the Pirates are being coy about that.
It's no surprise, of course, that the Pirates are promoting Taillon in early June, when the Super Two threshold has typically passed. The threshold itself is a bit of a moving target, since the actual amount of service time needed to earn Super Two isn't determined until later, but June 8 seems late enough that it won't be a problem for the Pirates. For example, Gerrit Cole made his MLB debut on June 11, 2013, and he entered this season with two years and 111 days of service time. The projected cutoff for Cole's class was two years and 140 days, so he wasn't even close to achieving Super Two status. So, long story short, Taillon probably isn't going to get Super Two status even if he sticks in the rotation.
Taillon has been brilliant this season for Indianapolis after missing two years due to elbow and hernia injuries. In 10 starts, he's whiffed 61 batters, walked just six and posted a 2.04 ERA, reestablishing himself as a premium pitching prospect.
I spoke to Taillon at length yesterday about the timing of his promotion. "I'm treating every start like it could be my last one. I think once you're in Triple-A, you realize you're a step away from the big leagues. I see guys go up and down all the time," he said. "So there's a very real feeling that, any day, you could go up, and you have to be ready to contribute."