Pirates' Taillon to undergo hernia surgery; expected to miss 2 months

Injury problems continue to derail the development of Jameson Taillon, the 23-year-old right-hander once considered the Pittsburgh Pirates' top pitching prospect.

Taillon, the second overall pick in the 2010 draft, will undergo surgery next week to repair an inguinal hernia and is expected to miss two months.

With minor-league affiliates wrapping up their seasons in early September, the possibility of another missed season looms large for Taillon, who hasn't pitched in a game since undergoing Tommy John surgery last April.

“The typical recover is about two months, so we'll see how his recovery process goes,” Pirates general manager Neal Huntington told Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune. “If things go as expected there should be an opportunity for him to pick up some innings this summer.”

Though Taillon showed tremendous promise in 2013, when he crafted a 3.73 ERA with a 1.11 WHIP over 147 1/3 innings against much older competition in Double-A, his prolonged absence from competitive action makes it difficult to predict when he'll make his MLB debut.

“That will be something we work through based upon what are able to accomplish this summer and fall,” Huntington said.