Giants’ Taylor Makes Two Pitches Work

GREENSBORO–Pitching against Greensboro on a very hot Tuesday afternoon, Augusta righthander Cory Taylor quickly settled into a good groove.

Mixing his fastball and slider, Taylor toyed with the Grasshoppers hitters with a 90-93 mph sinker. He tried to backdoor his slider unsuccessfully to lefthanded hitters–when he did it his slider lacked its normal bite and usually hung off the plate for a ball, but he was much more effective when he attacked lefties with sliders that broke in on their hands.

And against righthanders, Taylor’s sinker/slider combo was even nastier as hitter after hitter struggled to handle fastballs in on their hands and sliders that dodged the sweet spot of the bat.

But after two quick innings, Greensboro finally threatened Taylor in the third inning as an infield single and an opposite-field hit followed by a sacrifice bunt gave the Hoppers runners at second and third with only one out.

Faced with a crucial situation, Taylor’s stuff immediately got better. The fastball gained a tick of velocity. The slider got sharper as well. Two strikeouts later, Taylor was out of trouble.

Zach Sullivan did hit a solo home run off of Taylor to lead off the fifth inning, but otherwise Taylor cruised through his first five innings. But singles by Josh Naylor and Isael Soto and a walk by Angel Reyes loaded the bases in the sixth with one out.

Even on a 96-degree day, the Augusta bullpen didn’t stir. Manager Nestor Rojas had seen Taylor handle these situations before. With the go-ahead run standing on first base, Rojas left the game to Taylor.

Once again Taylor rose to the challenge. He struck out Morales with a slider then elevated a 95-mph fastball (his fastest pitch of the day) to finish off Sullivan.

Whenever Taylor faced a tough situation, his stuff got better. His line was impressive: 6 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 Ks. But that’s a pretty routine day for the stocky righthander (6-foot-2, 255 pounds). Taylor has allowed two earned runs or less in 15 of his 17 starts this year. Since May 1, Taylor has worked at least five innings in his last 13 starts.

“He’s been pretty consistent,” Rojas said. “He’s a competitor. And that sinker. The opposite movement of the sinker with the slider, it’s paid off.”

As a two-pitch starter, it’s logical to think that Taylor will eventually end up in the bullpen. But Taylor is pitch efficient and throws strikes like a starter–he is averaging a 66 strike percentage this season.

Taylor is a college veteran (he was a starting pitcher for the years at Dallas Baptist) pitching in the South Atlantic League. He’ll need to prove that his two-pitch approach will play against better hitters in more advanced leagues. But so far, he’s looking like a nice find as an eighth-round pick.