Brayden Taylor

Brayden Taylor
Tampa Bay Rays – No. 55
Shortstop
Born: (2002-05-22) May 22, 2002 (age 22)
West Jordan, Utah, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Right

Brayden Kerry Taylor (born May 22, 2002) is an American professional baseball shortstop in the Tampa Bay Rays organization.

Amateur career

Taylor went to Copper Hills High School located in West Jordan, Utah, where he played on their baseball team.[1] He achieved all-state honors as a junior in 2019 after he batted .443 with ten stolen bases.[2] He was ranked No. 188 in the nation by Perfect Game heading into his senior season.[3] He only played in three games during his senior season in 2020 due to it being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4]

He went unselected in the 2020 Major League Baseball draft, and enrolled at Texas Christian University (TCU) to play college baseball. Taylor was named TCU's starting third baseman as a freshman in 2021.[5][6] Over 58 starts, he batted .324 with a team-high 12 home runs, 53 RBIs, 49 walks and 15 stolen bases alongside a .924 fielding percentage.[7][8] He was named the Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year.[9] In the summer he played for the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod League.[10] He batted .269/.361/.385, and on defense split his time between second base and third base.[10]

As a sophomore in 2022, Taylor played in 59 games (58 starts) and hit .314 with 13 home runs, fifty RBIs, and 55 walks compared to forty strikeouts.[11] After the season, he briefly played in the Cape Cod Baseball League with the Falmouth Commodores, batting .242.[12] He was also named to and played with the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.[13]

Professional career

Taylor was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the first round, with the 19th overall selection, of 2023 Major League Baseball draft. On July 21, 2023, Taylor signed with the Rays on for the full-slot value of $3,880,100.[14]

References

  1. ^ Mikulich, Adam (April 2, 2019). "Prep of the Week: Copper Hills High's Brayden Taylor". KUTV.
  2. ^ "High school baseball: 2019 6A all-state team". Deseret News. June 15, 2019.
  3. ^ "Brayden Taylor - Baseball". TCU Athletics.
  4. ^ "High school sports 20 for 20: COVID-19 has spoiled Brayden Taylor's excitement about suiting up for Copper Hills with little brother". Deseret News. April 7, 2020.
  5. ^ Davison, Drew (April 23, 2021). "Utah is not known as a baseball hotbed, but TCU found a gem from the Beehive State". Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
  6. ^ "TCU hits homer with top recruit from Copper Hills | West Jordan Journal". www.westjordanjournal.com. May 11, 2021.
  7. ^ Davison, Drew (June 10, 2021). "TCU baseball's Brayden Taylor, Haylen Green receiving national recognition". Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
  8. ^ Gibbons, Brett (10 February 2022). "TCU Baseball Positional Preview: Infielders". Sports Illustrated TCU Killer Frogs News, Analysis and More.
  9. ^ Davison, Drew (May 24, 2021). "After being snubbed in the preseason, TCU baseball leads league with All-Big 12 honors". Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
  10. ^ a b "Brayden Taylor Amateur & College Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  11. ^ Lewis, Tyler Brown and Barry (21 June 2022). "TCU Baseball: Riding The River, Tailing The Taylor, Savage The Beast". Sports Illustrated TCU Killer Frogs News, Analysis and More.
  12. ^ "Brayden Taylor - Cape Cod Baseball League - player". Pointstreak Sports Technologies.
  13. ^ Fort Worth Star-Telegram https://www.star-telegram.com/sports/college/article263278538.html. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. ^ "Top pick Taylor 'super excited' to get to work". MLB.com. July 21, 2023. Retrieved July 22, 2023.


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