What’s Wrong With Cubs Pitcher Jameson Taillon?

Chicago Cubs pitcher Jameson Taillon is off to a rocky start this spring. The 34-year-old veteran has gotten hit hard in each of his three starts in Spring Training. 

He allowed four runs across 1 ⅔ innings against the White Sox on February 20, gave up three runs across two innings against the Rockies on February 25, and allowed six runs across 2 ⅓ innings against the Reds on March 2. 

That means Taillon has given up 13 runs across six innings pitched (19.50 ERA) in those three spring starts. He has allowed two home runs in each of those starts, and just recently walked two batters against the Reds on Monday. 

So, what has been the biggest problem for Taillon this year?

The answer to that actually revolves around all of his pitches. His velocity is down, the vertical and horizontal break on some of his pitches is down, and the spin rate on each of those pitches is down. 

In Monday’s start against the Reds, Taillon averaged just 91.1 mph with a 17-inch vertical break, a 4-inch horizontal break, and a 2288 spin rate on his four-seam fastball. All those numbers are down from where his fastball was last season. 

Taillon averaged 92.3 mph on his four-seam fastball with an 18-inch vertical break, a 7-inch vertical break, and a 2323 spin rate in 2025. His fastball just doesn’t have the same life as it did last year. 

His other pitches also fall under the same category. His velocity and horizontal break on his sinker, sweeper, and changeup are all worse than last season.  

Now, Cubs fans shouldn’t read too much into his struggles this spring. It is only the beginning of March, and the season doesn’t officially start until later this month. That’s more than enough time for Taillon to find his groove on the mound. 

Pitchers are often tweaking things throughout the spring, and it could take weeks for pitchers to finally feel like themselves following a long offseason. The good news is that Taillon still has over three weeks to get ready for the start of the season. 

As a result, there should be very little concern that Taillon won’t figure it out before Opening Day. He is a seasoned veteran who has been one of the Cubs' most consistent rotation arms over the past two years. 

Taillon finished with a 3.27 ERA across 165 ⅓ innings pitched in 2024 and ended with a 3.68 ERA across 129 ⅔ innings pitched in 2025. Those are solid numbers for a pitcher who is expected to be Chicago’s No. 5 starter this year. 

There’s no doubt that Taillon will figure things out over the next few weeks. His next start should be for Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic sometime this week.