By Gabriel Fidler, Managing Editor.
The Toronto Blue Jays have signed one of Italy’s top young pitchers, Giacomo Taschin, with the left-handed pitcher becoming the latest of a series of Italians to sign with MLB organizations. Despite only turning 18 last September, Taschin has already played four seasons in Italy’s Serie A for his hometown club, Itas Mutua Rovigo, excelling both on the mound and at the plate. He becomes the fifth Italian undre contract with a big league club, and the second European in Toronto’s system, joining another highly regarded southpaw, Adam Macko.
Taschin signs only a matter of weeks after Filippo Sabatini, his teammate on Italy’s 2024 Under-18 European Championship-winning team. Whilst Sabatini earned Best Pitcher honors, Taschin was the event’s MVP, going 3-0 with a 1.29 ERA in three games, two starts. He struck out 22 in 14 innings, permitting only six hits. Meanwhile, as the 1B or DH for each of Italy’s games, Taschin slashed .333/.542/.667.
The two-way star is already 6-foot on the dot, and checks in at 194 pounds. He previously wore the Azzurri for the 2021 Under-15 European Championship, 2022 Under-18 World Cup, and the 2022 Under-18 European Championship. The latter of which saw Taschin post a 1.64 ERA in three games, punching out 17 in 11 frames and notching a win and a save.
Meanwhile, at the club level, Taschin has been a revelation for Rovigo since his first full season in 2022, when he turned in a 1.99 ERA as a 15-year-old, whiffing 52 in only 31.2 innings. The southpaw has only continued to excel since then, turning in ERAs of 1.20 and 1.05 the last two seasons, with a consistently eltite strikeout rate. He is already off to a strong start in 2025, with a 1.93 ERA and 14 strikeouts and only one hit in 9.1 innings, though he has walked 11.
In total, over parts of five seasons, Taschin has a 1.46 ERA with 138 Ks (13.45 per nine), 65 walks (6.34 per nine), and only 50 hits (.158 opponnents’ average) allowed in 92.1 innings. In that time, Taschin has hit .276/.390/.361 as a regular starter in the outfield and at 1B, and is off to a .387/.447/.452 line to start 2025.
The Jays offered Taschin a contract after the spring European Academies Tournament, with the signing becoming official on 30 April. Rovigo will celebrate the signing on June 7, with Toronto representatives present. His contract has already been assigned to the Blue Jays’ Dominican Summer League ‘Red’ team, though Taschin noted he will be sent to the club’s Florida Complex in mid-July.
The other Italians in MLB systems include Sam Aldegheri (Angels), Alessandro Ercolani (Pirates), Williams Wong (Rangers), and Sabatini (Phillies). Sabatini’s contract became offical on Jan. 15 [link], while the other three all have professional games under their belts. In total, 24 Europeans are currently under contract among the 30 teams in the majors. For more, see our first update of Europeans in the Majors & Minors [link].
Thanks to FIBS for its press release [link].