Troy Taylor Stats & Scouting Report

Full name Troy Jonathan Taylor
Born 09/09/2001 in Fontana, CA
Profile Ht.: 6'0" / Wt.: 195 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School UC Irvine
Drafted in the 12th round (366th overall) by the Seattle Mariners in 2022 (signed for $125,000).

View Draft Report

A 20th-round pick of the Mariners out of Cypress (Calif.) JC last year, Taylor instead transferred to UC Irvine and led the Anteaters with six saves while striking out 42 batters in 33 innings. His fastball sits 93-95 mph and can touch 97 with good carry through the strike zone. He complements his fastball with a potentially average slider to give him the two-pitch mix needed to succeed in the bullpen.

Top Rankings

BA Grade: 40/High

Track Record: Taylor primarily played shortstop in high school before converting to pitching in college. He started at Long Beach State, transferred to Cypress (Calif.) JC and finished his career as a dominant closer at UC Irvine. The Mariners drafted him in the 20th round out of Cypress in 2021 and failed to sign him, but they selected him again in the 12th round out of Irvine in 2022 and inked him for $125,000. Taylor showed why the Mariners drafted him twice with an eye-opening pro debut in 2023. He struck out 62 batters in 45.1 innings of relief across the Class A levels and posted a 1.74 ERA in the Arizona Fall League.

Scouting Report: Taylor is a 6-foot righthander with a powerful two-pitch mix. His two-seam fastball sits 94-96 mph and touches 98 with hard, late armside run. He locates his two-seamer to both sides of the plate and has the unique ability to elevate it to make it a plus pitch. Taylor complements his fastball with an 85-87 mph power slider with sharp vertical break and late sweep. It’s an above-average offering he primarily uses as a chase pitch. Taylor’s pitches have so much movement they get away from him at times and yield fringy control, but he throws enough strikes to be effective in short bursts.

The Future: Taylor has the stuff to be a mid-leverage reliever with further development. He’ll move to Double-A in 2024.

Scouting Grades Fastball: 60 | Slider: 55 | Control: 45

School: UC Irvine Committed/Drafted: Mariners ’21 (20)
Age At Draft: 20.9
Taylor was a day three draftee in 2021 out of Cypress (Calif.) JC after showing arm strength and a fastball up to 96 mph. The Mariners selected him in the 20th round, but he opted to not sign and head to UC Irvine for the 2022 season, where he pitched exclusively out of the bullpen. This spring he posted a 3.82 ERA over 33 innings while striking out 42 batters (28.8 K%) and walking 18 (12.3 BB%). Taylor has pitched in the 93-95 mph range this spring, while touching 97-98 mph at peak, with the makings of an average slider in the low 80s. Taylor has good carry and induced vertical break on his fastball around 18 inches and because of that fastball he should again be a draft target for teams in the 11-20 round range.

Seattle Mariners selected the contract of RHP Troy Taylor from Arkansas Travelers.
Arkansas Travelers activated RHP Troy Taylor.
RHP Troy Taylor assigned to Arkansas Travelers from Everett AquaSox.
RHP Troy Taylor assigned to Seattle Mariners.
RHP Troy Taylor assigned to Modesto Nuts from ACL Mariners.
Modesto Nuts activated RHP Troy Taylor.
RHP Troy Taylor roster status changed by Seattle Mariners.
RHP Troy Taylor assigned to Seattle Mariners.