One of the most intriguing picks of the 2023 draft, Grant Taylor was selected by the White Sox in the second round. Most people pegged Taylor as a first-round talent heading into the season this year, but he suffered an elbow injury that held him out for the entirety of the 2023 season, which is unfortunate, as his school, Louisiana State University, would go on to win the College World Series.
In his freshman season at LSU (2021-2022), Taylor would mainly come out of the bullpen and was a bit shaky, as most freshmen who get playing time are. He would pitch in 17 games, starting two, for a total of 31 innings. He would give up 32 hits, 20 runs, while walking 21, and striking out 39 batters. It was a bit rough, but the strikeouts were up there, which is a good sign. He would then go on to pitch in the Cape Cod League over the 2022 summer.
In the Cape Cod League, he would pitch in five games, starting four of them, to the tune of 21 total innings. In those 21 innings, Taylor struck out 30 batters, only giving up five runs. He had a .8 WHIP and a 2.14 ERA. These are vast improvements over the summer. He would only walk 2 batters in those 21 innings, which is significantly better than he did in his freshman season at LSU.
Unfortunately, shortly after he seemed to figure out some things in the summer, he needed Tommy John surgery and that left him out for the entirety of the 2023 season. Clearly, the White Sox saw enough of him in to make him their second-round pick.
He wasn’t able to pitch at all for the Sox once he was drafted, so he will have to wait til 2024 to make his professional debut. I would imagine the Sox start him off in the Arizona Complex league so he can get his feet underneath him before they promote him to Kannapolis at some point in the season.
MLB scouts absolutely love his stuff, as MLB grades every single one of his pitch offerings as above average. They rank his slider and curveball as 55 on the 80 scale, which is above average. They give both his fastball and his cutter a 60 score, which is even higher than average. That rating is due to a mid-90s fastball that he can almost get to 100.
I would imagine due to his four pitch mix, that they have him as a starter next year. While he may be on an innings limit because of the surgery, I believe they think of him as a starter long-term. If he figured out his control in the Cape Code League, he would be a steal of a pick in the second round. Let’s hope that he can come back healthy next year, as he will be a fun prospect to follow as the year goes along.
