Mariners Select Troy Taylor – MLB Trade Rumors

The Mariners announced that the right-hander’s contract Troy Taylor was selected to the Double-A Arkansas roster. Right-handed Edouard Bazardo was sent to Triple-A to create room on the active roster, and no further trades were necessary since Seattle had open space on its 40-man roster.

Taylor was selected in the 12th round of the 2022 draft by Cal, and a dominant performance in his second professional season has the 22-year-old making his major league debut. In 42 2/3 combined innings with Arkansas in Double-A and Everett in High-A, Taylor has a 1.27 ERA, a 27.6% strikeout rate, an 8.59% walk rate and exceptional groundball rates. His performance was impressive enough for the Mariners to add him to the 40-man roster, giving Taylor the nod ahead of other Triple-A players already on the 40-man roster.

A full-time reliever in both college and professional leagues, MLB Pipeline’s scouting report rates Taylor as a “short-stopper,” while Baseball America rates Taylor as “a mid-leverage reliever with additional development.” (BA ranks Taylor 21st on its list of the Mariners’ top 30 prospects, while Pipeline ranks him a bit lower, at 23rd.) Both outlets describe Taylor’s slider and fastball as plus pitches, though control can sometimes be an issue since both pitches have a lot of movement. Taylor’s fastball sits in the 94-96 mph range, and he has pushed it to 98 mph on occasion.

The Mariners aren’t likely to use Taylor in many high-upside situations right away, given that throwing key innings in a title race is a lot to ask of a pitcher getting his first exposure to major league hitters. Still, Taylor brings another intriguing arm to a generally solid Mariners bullpen, and Taylor could help offset the continued absence of injured players. Gregory Santos.