Pitching is one of the strengths of the White Sox farm system. But while prospects like Noah Shultz and Hagen Smith have received most of the attention, an under-the-radar name received a ringing endorsement from the reigning National League Rookie of the Year.
The White Sox No. 8 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, is right-hander Grant Taylor isn’t projected to reach the majors until 2027. However, his former LSU teammate Paul Skenes believes the 22-year-old could be ready even sooner.
Skenes took the MLB by storm during his rookie season, posting a 1.96 ERA with 170 strikeouts in 133 innings. While Skenes was carving up MLB hitter, Taylor was getting his first taste of professional ball in the White Sox organization after being drafted in the second round with the 51st overall pick of the 2024 draft. He threw just 19.1 innings due to an injury, six of which came in Single-A Kannapolis. However, he impressed during that small sample size, limiting opponents to a .171 batting average en route to a 2.33 ERA. During his 19.1 innings of work, he racked up 32 punchouts.
Taylor recently spoke to MLB.com and said that Skenes believes his stuff can play at the MLB level.
“I’ll talk to him, and he’ll tell me different stuff that he notices throughout the league, and he’s like, ‘You can be here very soon, dude,’” Taylor told MLB.com’s Scott Merkin. “He was one of the best in the league this year. It’s pretty cool for one of my really, really good buddies to believe I can be right up there with him, and he’s at the top of the league.”
Taylor only threw one season for LSU but made an early impression. During his 2022 season, he appeared in 17 games for the Bayou Bengals, starting two of them. The true freshman posted a 4-1 record with a 5.81 ERA in 31 innings. During that stretch, he struck out 39 batters, including six against the seventh-ranked Florida Gators during a 5.1-inning relief appearance in which he limited them to two runs on four hits, which helped the Tiger clinch a series victory.
Taylor’s stock quickly rose that offseason, after an impressive showing as a starter in the Cape Cod League. Unfortunately, the positive momentum was halted when he blew out his elbow during an intrasquad game which forced him to miss LSU’s 2023 National championship campaign.
The White Sox rolled the dice that he would flash the same stuff post-Tommy John surgery and signed him for $1,659,800. It appeared that gamble paid off when he made his professional debut before the organization shut him down for the season due to a right lat strain that flared up.
The hope is that Taylor can return to form after some extra rest this offseason. His fastball can touch 99 mph and is paired with a low 90s cutter to set up his breaking balls. His off-speed arsenal includes an 80-mph curve and a sharp mid-80s slider. It’s the type of stuff that could make him an effective late-inning reliever if his development as a starter goes awry. To stick as a starter he may need to refine his changeup, which he threw just four times in college.
The White Sox don’t have to rush Taylor, given he is just entering his second season as a pro and they already have a handful of young arms vying for a spot in the big leagues. But if Skenes’ scouting report is any indication, Taylor could find himself in the White Sox rotation in the future.
If anyone can rise to the challenge it’s Taylor, who was the product of a competitive environment at LSU. Thirteen of his college teammates were drafted. On top of Skenes, who was selected first overall, Taylor was also teammates with Dylan Crews, who made history with Skenes as the first pair of teammates to go No. 1 and No. 2 in the same draft.
