Michael Taylor
by phatj on Jun 10, 2008 12:09 AM EDT
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Print.280/.367/.469/.836 with 19 homers over 135 games. This was Ryan Howard's line, also in Lakewood, also at age 22. He turned out OK.
Anyone care to speculate about why Taylor's not in Clearwater yet? Lakewood is one of the few teams in the Phillies system that doesn't blow, and perhaps the Phillies want him to get a taste of winning. So, do they promote him after the ASB? This article seems to suggest he's going nowhere in the immediate future, but there's nothing concrete indicating why. Other than that, I've got nothing. Would there be any good reason to keep him down in Low-A for a whole season and then double-jump him to Reading next year, rather than promote him to Clearwater mid-season and then let him tackle Double-A with some high-A experience?
Talk to me about this guy. I know he's 6'6", 250 lbs, and presently plays left field. Does he have a future in the OF? The steals indicate he has some speed, but him size suggests he won't keep it forever. The only other obvious place for him to play would be first base... could he supplant Howard there in a couple of years, assuming Howard prices himself out of town or falls apart or something?
Speaking of the Howard comparison, as Ryan is showing some signs that he may not be able to regain his MVP form, would it perhaps behoove the Phils to try to fasttrack Taylor so that he's not hitting MLB just as he reaches his prime?
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I find the title of this post somewhat lacking
It should definitely be “Michael Taylor: The Next Ryan Howard.” The period makes it that much more believable.
I didn't intend to suggest that Taylor is going to turn into Howard
But the fact that Taylor is far outperforming Howard at the same level and age is certainly promising, no?
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It’s obviously not a bad thing . . .but then again, I’m sure you’d find lots of guys who significantly out-performed Howard at the same age/level and then didn’t amount to much of anything.
Don’t get me wrong, he’s very intriguing. It’s just that other than the two guys being pretty big, they don’t look like very similar players developmentally.
Outfield
Shouldn’t be a problem for Taylor. The guy is like a bulked up version of Reggie Sanders. That’s how good of shape he is in. Unless something unforseen happens, left field is where he will be for quite some time.
He was a supertoolsy HS prospet
never quite broke out as expected at Stanford, despite improving alot as a junior, so I could see him emergence as being real despite the lower level of competition. Some scouts thought that it was only a matter of time before it all clicked for him
and like others have said
he will stay in LF or RF, and might be good there despite his size, as he is pretty athletic.
He could maybe even play CF
AA Promotion?
I could see the Phils skipping over High A ball and sending Taylor straight to Reading for the last couple months of the season. Taylor skills seem to be refined enough that a jump to AA would not be detrimental to his development.
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