Taillon, Benintendi among top prospect performers Thursday

With Jameson Taillon’s impressive start to the 2016 season, you would never suspect that he hadn’t pitched competitively since ’13.

The Pirates’ No. 4 prospect (No. 51 overall) improved to 2-0 on Thursday, firing seven innings of one-run ball for Triple-A Indianapolis in a win against Norfolk. Taillon scattered five hits and issued two walks in the outing, which was his longest of the season for the Indians.

It seemed as though Taillon, the No. 2 overall pick of the Draft in 2010, was destined to join Gerrit Cole in the Pirates’ big league rotation in 2014 after he had finished the previous year at Indianapolis. But injuries derailed the right-hander’s progress up the ladder, as Tommy John surgery and then surgery for an inguinal hernia wiped out his ’14 and ’15 seasons, respectively. Now 24, Taillon finally is healthy and making up for the lost time in a hurry with a lights-out start to the season in Triple-A.

Taillon has not allowed more than two earned runs in any of his four starts for the Indians, and he’s pitched to a stellar 1.54 ERA and 0.86 WHIP in 23 1/3 innings in that span. The right-hander’s command has really stood out, as the two free passes he permitted on Thursday were his first of the season, giving him an overall K/BB ratio of 23/2.

The rest of the best performances from top prospects Thursday

• No. 22 overall prospect Andrew Benintendi (Red Sox’s No. 3) hit a go-ahead, bases-clearing double with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning to lead Class A Advanced Salem past Frederick, 7-4. He drove in four runs in the game, giving him 18 RBIs in 20 games this season, while his 2-for-4 performance at the plate extended his hitting streak to 17 games. Overall, the 2015 No. 7 overall Draft pick is batting .346/.407/.642 with 17 runs scored, 16 extra-base hits and four steals.

• No. 31 overall prospect Jesse Winker (Reds’ No. 1) and No. 68 Jose Peraza (Reds’ No. 5) went a combined 6-for-8 with four extra-base hits to power Triple-A Louisville in a win against Durham. Peraza collected three of the four extra-base knocks, going 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and his first home run of the season, while Winker doubled as part of a 3-for-4 effort.

• No. 37 overall prospect A.J. Reed (Astros’ No. 2) connected on his fifth home run of the season in Triple-A Fresno’s win against El Paso. The 22-year-old first baseman has collected hits in …

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