San Francisco Giants: Players in San Jose to Keep an Eye on in 2017
By Justin Rodgers
![Oct 11, 2016; San Francisco, CA, USA; A general view of ATT&T Park during game four of the 2016 NLDS playoff baseball game. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports Oct 11, 2016; San Francisco, CA, USA; A general view of ATT&T Park during game four of the 2016 NLDS playoff baseball game. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/AroundTheFoghorn-cover-a9fa403b05fb18d6903c3c913c2e29d5.jpg)
Taylor was drafted by the Giants in the 8th round of the 2015 draft out of Dallas Baptist. He is a right handed starter who stands 6’2’’ and weighs 255 pounds.
Like most of the aforementioned prospects, he has played at multiple levels since being drafted. In 2015, he went 2-0 with an ERA on 2.45 in 18 games as a reliever. He struck out 50 batters in 33 innings, but had a WHIP of 1.45 and opponents hit .286 off of him.
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2016 was relatively successful for Taylor, overall. He began the year in Class-A August—going 9-5 with a 2.58 ERA in 18 starts. He threw 97.2 innings and struck out 100 batters, before being promoted to Advanced Class-A San Jose. In San Jose he struggled a bit, posting a 1-1 record with an ERA of 6.75 in three starts. However, he was ultimately called up to Double-A Richmond, where he proceeded to go 1-0 in two starts with an ERA of 0.75. In Richmond, batters managed to only hit .227 off of Taylor, which shows his improvement over the course of the season.
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Even though Taylor had success in Richmond in 2016, I expect him to begin the year in San Jose to gain experience. I will be waiting to see how he progresses in 2017, along with all the other prospects listed above.