White Sox believe they have a 'first-round piece' in Taylor

CHICAGO -- There was a time during an intrasquad game last fall at Louisiana State University where Grant Taylor went toe to toe with Paul Skenes on the mound.

That’s Skenes, who was made the No. 1 pick of the 2023 MLB Draft by Pittsburgh and helped LSU claim the College World Series title over Florida. And that’s Taylor, who was the second-round choice of the White Sox and the fourth LSU player to be selected among the first 51 picks.

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White Sox director of amateur scouting Mike Shirley shared this story with the media, reinforcing the point of the organization believing it tabbed a pair of first-round picks, despite Taylor having Tommy John surgery in February.

“If he gets to spring, he probably doesn’t get to us. He goes in the first round,” Shirley said of Taylor. “We probably don’t get our hands on him. We selected him in the second and get a first-round piece.

“His skill set the last time we saw him pitch live in a game was a fastball at 94 to 98 mph, two breaking balls. It’s a power curveball. There’s a slider and a cutter in there. The way he manipulates breaking balls gives him the capacity to be a frontline guy.”

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Taylor, 21, pitched out of the bullpen in 2022, with 15 of his 17 appearances for LSU coming in relief. But in a conversation with MLB.com on Monday, Taylor made it clear he’s a starter.

Taylor's starting days will have to wait as the Tommy John recovery continues after that surgery on Feb. 22. He will begin throwing bullpen sessions around the holidays, advance to live at-bats around Spring Training and then sometime in April/May, he’ll be on the mound starting rehab outings.

White Sox doctors took a look at his progress before the Draft, while Taylor talked to the organization about its thoughts and plans for the rehab process.

If all goes well, Taylor could get into actual Minor League games in the 2024 season. Although he would have a chance to return to LSU, Taylor is ready to pursue his professional career.

“I’m planning on being a White Sox,” Taylor said. “I finish all my rehab and PT around mid-June. So, it would be full-go heading into All-Star break and after the All-Star break.”

“He was definitely a target of ours,” Shirley said. “We love the person, the makeup, his comprehension of how he uses his stuff.”

The White Sox had a chance to watch Taylor pitch for Brewster in the Cape Cod League last year, where he struck out 30 over 21 innings covering five games (four starts). According to Taylor, that experience gave him a chance to not only get a few starts under his belt, but also pitch through adversity where he might not have been able to at LSU.

When the White Sox announced Taylor's selection late Sunday night, he was with his parents and one of his friends from high school at their home in Florence, Ala. His brother, Evan, is a closer for the Low-A Jupiter squad in the Marlins’ organization, while a second brother, Collin, pitched for Arkansas and Alabama-Birmingham.

“He enjoys it. You get to play baseball for a living, so that’s a pretty good deal right there,” Taylor said of talking professional baseball life with Evan. “I was extremely excited. I was kind of nervous a little bit to hear my name get called.

“It’s something I’ve waited on forever. I’m glad I got to do it with my family around me. It was pretty great.”

Taylor was with LSU right through its championship run, supporting his teammates wherever and however he could.

Skenes and Taylor talked baseball during their time at LSU, getting them ready for the season and for this next level of baseball competition.

“If they threw Skenes in the big leagues now, he’d be perfectly fine. He’s pretty good at what he does,” Taylor said. “Me and him would bounce ideas off each other, play with grips, play with spins throughout the fall and then early in the spring. We both benefitted from each other in that regard.”

“Get the mechanisms and mechanics right before we hit the accelerator,” Shirley said. “We know the stuff is there. This is just a little bit delayed.”