Aaron Taylor Stats & Scouting Report

IP	21
ERA	9
WHIP	1.857
BB/9	3.857
SO/9	8.143

Full name Aaron Wade Taylor
Born 08/20/1977 in Valdosta, GA
Profile Ht.: 6'8" / Wt.: 260 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Lowndes County
Debut 09/09/2002
Drafted in the 11th round (332nd overall) by the Atlanta Braves in 1996.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

In each of the last two offseasons, Colorado has picked up a relief prospect from Seattle when the Mariners needed to make room on their 40-man roster. In 2003, they got Allan Simpson in exchange for Chris Buglovsky. This winter, they received Taylor for Sean Green. Seattle did a nice job of resurrecting Taylor's career after acquiring him in the Double-A phase of the 1999 Rule 5 draft. He quit baseball briefly in 2001 and blossomed after returning. With his 6-foot-8, 240-pound build and a heavy mid-90s fastball, Taylor can intimidate hitters. He pitched mostly at 92-93 mph last year while building his arm back up after surgery to repair a small tear in his rotator cuff, but should be at full strength in 2005. He's still trying to develop consistency with his slider and splitter, which show flashes of being plus pitches. If those pitches come around, he could be a late-innings weapon in a big league bullpen. If Taylor doesn't make the Rockies out of spring training, he'll open 2005 in Triple-A.
The Mariners stole a future all-star reliever when they plucked Jeff Nelson from the Dodgers in the 1986 minor league Rule 5 draft. They may have done the same again when they picked Taylor from the Braves in the 1999 minor league Rule 5 draft. Taylor didn't immediately pay off, posting a 7.43 ERA in his first year in the Seattle system and quitting baseball briefly in 2001. After returning, he shot from low Class A to the majors in 15 months. Taylor has the raw stuff to close games but needs more polish. He has a heavy 94-97 mph fastball, and his 6-foot-5 frame allows him to drive his heater down in the zone. He's similar to Braden Looper in that he has a big-time fastball but no consistent second pitch. Taylor's slider and splitter have their moments but aren't reliable. He started to have more success late last year when he went to a slurvier slider. He also could use better command and more finesse in his approach. Taylor's 2003 season ended in early August with a small tear in his rotator cuff. His recovery was progressing faster than expected, so he may be ready for spring training. Assuming he's healthy, he should get another shot in the majors in 2004.
Taylor comes from Hahira, Ga., and Lowndes High, which also spawned the Drew brothers--big leaguers J.D. and Tim, and current Florida State star Stephen. Taylor's career was going nowhere when he quit during spring training 2001 after posting a 6.26 ERA in his first five seasons. Once he returned, he went from low A to the majors in 15 months. Pitchers don't come much more intimidating than Taylor, who's tall and features three dastardly pitches. His fastball reaches 94-97 mph every time out and peaks at 99. If hitters start looking for heat, he can cross them up with his slider and splitter. Taylor's secondary pitches require more consistency after deserting him at times during his September callup. His splitter is generally more effective than his slider, which flattens out if he drops his arm angle. Command has never been his strong suit. Spring training will determine whether Taylor opens the season in Seattle or Triple-A. He's the heir apparent to Mariners closer Kazuhiro Sasaki.
Taylor was the organization's biggest surprise in 2001, though that seemed unlikely in spring training. Frustrated at the direction his career was going after posting a 6.26 ERA in five pro seasons, he quit and went home. The Mariners had told him he'd be welcomed back if he changed his mind, which he did a week later. The only problem was that he had been placed on the voluntary retired list, which meant he had to sit out the first 60 days of the season. Taylor returned with a vengeance in the Midwest League, dealing 93-98 mph heat every time out. He intimidated hitters with his size and his fastball, and they didn't exactly relish facing his splitter or newly developed slider. All of a sudden he made the $4,000 Seattle spent to get him from Atlanta in the 1999 Double-A Rule 5 draft look like a bargain. Taylor's control still isn't perfect and at 23 he was old for low Class A. The Mariners love his makeup and are ready to move him quickly. He'll probably begin 2002 in Double-A and could reach Seattle by the end of the season.

Minor League Top Prospects

Taylor's closer potential gives the Mariners another reason to try to make Soriano a starter. He's a 6-foot-5 intimidator with three pitches that can make batters look silly. If hitters sit on his 94-97 mph fastball, they run the risk of falling victim to the movement on the splitter and slider; if they don't, good luck catching up to it. Whether Taylor becomes a big league finisher or set-up man depends on his ability to command his secondary pitches. He also could use a little more finesse in his approach. Of more immediate concern is his ability to bounce back from minor shoulder surgery that likely will cause him to miss the beginning of the 2004 season.
Frustrated so much that he actually quit baseball briefly before last season, Taylor continued the roll that started last season in the low Class A Midwest League. He improved steadily throughout the season and earned a September callup to the Seattle bullpen. Though he was starting his seventh season, Taylor came into the season without a refined approach to pitching. After succeeding in the Midwest League with his fastball, he continued that approach early in San Antonio--reasonable given that he dials it up to 94-97 mph. But Double-A hitters hammered him when he tried to blow the ball by them. So Taylor learned to use his slider and splitter more, and he became much more effective. Both are average major league pitches and make his fastball that much better. "He's built like a Greek god and throws like one," DeFrancesco said.
A 1999 Double-A Rule 5 draft pick from the Braves, Taylor looked like a waste of that $4,000 investment when he left the Mariners organization in spring training. His ERA for five pro seasons was 6.26. But once he rejoined the team and arrived in Wisconsin in mid-June, he suddenly blossomed into what Massarelli called "a righthanded Randy Johnson." Taylor had the best fastball in the league, throwing 93-98 mph with regularity. The combination of his velocity and his intimidating 6-foot-7, 230-pound frame make the ball get on hitters in a hurry, and they managed to bat just .184 with two extra-base hits against him. Batters couldn't sit on his fastball because his splitter is nasty, and he also added a slider, another potential plus pitch. He was old for the league at 23, but seems poised to advance rapidly now that he's turned the corner.