MESA, Ariz. — One of the keys for Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon when he turned around his 2023 season was fixing the direction of his stride.
Instead of striding straight to home plate or even slightly toward the third-base side, he had begun opening up.
‘‘You feel like you’re making good pitches, and you don’t get those good reactions,’’ Taillon said Sunday. ‘‘And it’s like, ‘Clearly, something’s off.’ ’’
The Cubs saw multiple advantages to delaying Taillon’s first spring-training start, including giving him a controlled setting to repeat his mechanics. The only Cubs starter who has yet to appear in a game, Taillon is scheduled to throw a simulated game Monday and expects to make his Cactus League debut next weekend.
‘‘You can play in a game but control it; I like that,’’ manager Craig Counsell said.
A controlled setting is also helpful as Taillon deals with some soreness in his calves. He said he doesn’t feel it while pitching, jogging or lifting weights, but the issue cropped up while practicing his fielding by running in for bunts or sprinting to cover first base.
Especially this early in spring training, there’s no reason to push through the discomfort. And it hasn’t put Taillon behind in terms of building up. He is set to throw about three innings Monday, in line with the rest of the pitching staff the second time through the rotation.
He will be facing quality hitters, too. Cody Bellinger, who re-signed with the Cubs last week, is building up to his first spring game and is expected to face Taillon.
In a simulated game, Taillon won’t be tempted to make a play on defense that might aggravate his calf. And because the emphasis early in spring training isn’t on results, he’ll be able to focus on the work.
‘‘It’s easier said than done,’’ Taillon said. ‘‘It’s pretty rare that people are actually in a game environment [and] just working on stuff.’’
He gave a hypothetical example of facing the Padres on Monday. Against Fernando Tatis Jr. or Xander Bogaerts, if he had the chance to throw a slider in a 3-2 count, he probably would do that instead of sticking stubbornly to his plan.
‘‘I don’t want to just groove him a heater or whatever it is,’’ Taillon said.
His focus, more than being pitch-specific, is on the consistency of his delivery. Fixing his stride direction gives him better shape on his cutter, slider and four-seam fastball. And it prevents him from showing the ball early.
‘‘Can I maintain that stride direction as the intensity rises and all that?’’ he said. ‘‘I thought we made really good progress with things in the second half of last year, and I just want to hammer that down.’’
Last season, Taillon’s first with the Cubs, he was happy with his spring results. He made five starts and yielded four home runs, but he also had scoreless outings against the Dodgers and, to wrap up spring, the White Sox.
But he didn’t carry that momentum into the regular season. In the first half, he dealt with a mixture of bad luck, over-adjustment and a groin injury.
‘‘Maybe that wasn’t the best thing for me,’’ he said of his spring schedule.
Taillon’s simulated game also guarantees rookie left-hander Jordan Wicks another spring start as he competes for the fifth rotation spot. He’s taking the mound Monday against the Padres.
