No big writeup, just his stat lines, but Taylor was on BA’s Second Team in the OF along with Dexter Fowler (COL) and Travis Snider (TOR), both of whom are now in the majors. This caps a huge season for Taylor, one that will see him shoot way up BA’s rankings this winter. Congrats to Michael, he finds himself in elite company on this all star list.
42 thoughts on “Michael Taylor makes BA’s All Star Team”
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Phuture Phillies 
That’s wonderful news. Congrats Michael!
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Can we say “complete and utter steal”? Talk about striking gold with a pick…now if only some of our other picks pan out.
So on BA’s rankings, are we talking Top 50?, top 100?
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Here’s a question asked of Kevin Goldstein in his BP Chat the other day:
Michael Taylor (Clearwater, FL): What light came on that allowed me to start hitting like I have been? Where was this at Stanford? And how does a guy who is 6’6″, 250 have the speed and athleticism to be a decent outfield glove and steal bases? Maybe I grow up to be Corey Hart with an extra 30 pounds of muscle?
Kevin Goldstein: As far as where this was at Stanford, ask Stanford. Scouts talk a lot about “the Stanford swing” which is single-plane and designed for contact and not a one-size-fits-all solution. Taylor is now away from that and good things are happening for him. As far as how a 6-6, 250 guy has that kind of athleticism — you just need to see him. He’s not some massive hulking guy one-dimensional stiff, he’s ripped like a football player.
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After this season, I’m hoping with his massive size and decent speed that Taylor becomes a Ryan Howard level of steal in a lower draft round for fairly normal bonus. Doubt he has Howard’s mega-power, but he likely hits for higher average, has 30 – 35 HR power, plays a more primo defensive position, and doesn’t clog the bases as much. He could be almost as valuable overall as Howard, which is saying a lot.
On a side topic — anyone else finding the logons on the revised site to be as really, really, really slow as I am?
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Hadn’t noticed…you should click the “remember me” button if you’re on a personal computur…help speed things up a bit.
I’m hopeful that Taylor contributes at the big league level by next Sep…I know, I know he’s only in A+ but it is possible if he gets off to a hot start in Reading. He’s an older prospect so his developmental curve could be steeper.
You know, if we hadn’t made that Blanton deal, we could legitimately have a pretty decent farm system by next year…even without Cardenas/Outman, quite a few prospects have surprised this year: Taylor, Marson, Golson, D’Arnaud, D. Brown, and Donald have all made big steps forward this year…how often does that happen?
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Hmmm. Might be time to rethink that anti-Phillies bias. 8^)
Kudos to Taylor. He’ll be worth checking out at Reading next year.
– Jeff
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Congrats Mike, most definitely deserved.
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Let the man crushing begin.
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allentown1,
i’ve been thinking the same thing for some time.. Let’s compare lines at age 23.
Howard (CLE) 130G; 149H; 490 AB; 32 2b; 23 HR; 82 RBI; 50 BB; 151 SO; .304 avg; .374 OBP; .514 SLG; .888 OPS
Taylor (LAK and CLE): 132G; 170H; 492AB; 39 2b; 19HR; 88 RBI; 50BB; 89 SO; .346 avg; .412 OBP; .557 SLG; .968 OPS
pretty comparable. Howard’s got him on HR’s but Taylor’s plate discipline is much better. Taylor did part at Low A but if he starts off strong in Reading next year, the comparisons will come. Imagine both of them in a big league lineup together (for at least a year in say 2011???) hmmmm.
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We’ll see if the Howard comps hold at 24, when the big man slugged 647 at AA and 604 at AAA.
Howard’s skill set is probably one of the most distinctive ever seen in the game: I’m not sure he is really comparable to anyone, past or future.
A better idea might be to compare him to Pat the Bat, who at 22 (!) was raking at a 320/426/602 line in AA and AAA.
Taylor has some skills obviously that Burrell lacks, but he still has to prove he can rake against age-appropriate competition before I get too excited.
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I have not seen Taylor in person. Can anyone provide some comparables? Based on the conversation, Dave Parker comes to mind. Txs
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at one point he had seven doubles in three games dont know if i ever saw that anywhere b 4
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Taylor is 22 until December, and just another thing for the people who keep mentioning the age appropriate.
Here are the average ages of pitchers/hitters in the FSL. Batters 23.0 & Pitchers 23.2
So if you go by that he’s plenty age appropriate in the FSL. He’ll start next in AA and will again be plenty age appropriate for his level.
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Being age appropriate for a prospect, and age appropriate in general are two very different things. With that in mind, the numbers you gave us become meaningless.
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neduolcaz I wish that I could figure out what you are saying.
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He’s correct.
The average age for the league in general is fairly meaningless, because every league has its share of guys who are simply career minor leaguers. Average age (all players) and average prospect age (the legit prospects) are different.
The back of the envelope method for that is simple
RK (GCL): 18
A- (Williamsport): 19
A (Lakewood): 20
A+ (Clearwater): 21
AA (Reading): 22
AAA (Lehigh Valley): 23
That’s the timeline for kids out of high school. College is trickier. Most college guys go to A- straight out of college for their first half season. The elite guys generally finish that half season in A ball, or they just destroy the A- league. In their first full season, the elite college guys start in A+, or they end up there half way through the season. In most cases, they are 21/22 when they get to A+.
Essentially, for college kids, the quick frame would be
A-: 21
A: 21
A+: 21/22
AA: 22/23
AAA: 23/24
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age is only relevent at the extremes. like a 19/20 year old in AA or a 26 year old.
the difference between 21 or 22 at clearwater is not relevent.
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Okay thanks pp now I understand.
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So I guess that Taylor isn’t really “old” then for Reading next year.
Anyway, I noticed that Taylor played 65 games at Clearwater, so if you spread that over a 130 games, here’s how he might compare to Howard:
Taylor (projected CLE) 130G; 160H; 486AB; 54(!)2B; 18HR; 76RBI; 38BB; 92K; .329BA; .380 OBP; .569 SLG; .939 OPS
Howard (CLE) 130G; 149H; 490 AB; 32 2b; 23 HR; 82 RBI; 50 BB; 151 SO; .304 avg; .374 OBP; .514 SLG; .888 OPS
Throw in the fact that Taylor has some speed, and is a decent defender, there’s some serious cause for excitement.
And while I’ve never seen Taylor play, I think an interesting player to compare him to might be Dave Winfield.
– Jeff
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I guess my effort failed last time, but I’ll try again: Howard is not a good comp.
Just because he is big, black, and was drafted in the 5th round does not mean Howard is indicative of what you can get from Taylor.
The (original) Big Man did not become a “whoa” prospect until after the year you keep comparing them too. You can find dozens of flameouts who hit for a 900 OPS at A ball.
As keeps being mentioned (in the same posts that make the comparisons, oddly) they have almost completely different skill sets.
Putting Taylor’s breakout year numbers next to Howard’s pre-breakout does not help you evaluate his future prospects…at all.
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Wait a second, Taylor is black?!?!
All kidding aside, the Taylor/Howard comparisons are not without merit – they are both huge physical presences (and African-American – it’s human nature to compare people of similar ethnicities. Freddy Galvis is being compared to Omar Visquel, Travis Mattair to Scott Rolen, to cite two quick examples ), college athletes who slipped a bit in the draft, weren’t that impressive their first pro season. There is actually a divergence there. Howard started to stand out in his third (age 23) year at Clearwater, Taylor is in his second year and only 22.
– Jeff
I think there is legitimate cause for excitement about Taylor, and he’s certainly our most exciting position player since Howard.
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Howard not a “whoa” prospect after his CLE season ?
1. MVP of the FSL ; 7 RBI short of winning the league’s triple crown.
2. Won Paul Owens’ Award
3. Phils’ 3rd best prospect according to Baseball America
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Taylor and Howard really aren’t that similar.
Howard had better raw power and plate discipline, Taylor is in a better spot on the defensive spectrum, has more speed and is a much better athlete.
I’ll have more on Taylor in the coming days.
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what a concept a left fielder who can play defense HOLY JERRY MARTIN.
i have not been able to attend minor league games since the fall league was here I am looking forward to seeing M.T.
Philly,Allentown, or Reading . I guess what kind of attitude the new GM will have. Maybe he can find some place to play post season
am i wrong but do the phillies shy away from winter ball
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“it’s human nature to compare people of similar ethnicities.”
Human nature or not, this kind of shorthand is bad for analyzing prospects. It’s just lazy, and you end up with pointless comparisons like Howard/Taylor or Golson/Bourne.
“1. MVP of the FSL ; 7 RBI short of winning the league’s triple crown.
2. Won Paul Owens’ Award
3. Phils’ 3rd best prospect according to Baseball America”
Yes, it was a nice season, but I don’t think you’ll find many peopler would argue that he didn’t top that (by a lot) the next year.
“I think there is legitimate cause for excitement about Taylor, and he’s certainly our most exciting position player since Howard.”
Agree completely.
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to bphils
to take the average age of a league is a little misleading
many of the older players are not really prospects and drive
that average up. a thought
does anyone know is MT a line drive hitter or does he lift
the : lower ball hitter or not such things
thank you
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The reason Howard was not seen as a top prospect after his Clearwater season was mainly age. He had a low A year before that which many top prospect college draftees do not need. While it was only 1 year (23 vs 22), the whole Lakewood year was a sign from the Phillies that he needed to work on some things like shortening his swing. That is almost more important than the year when assessing who is a top prospect.
The other thing to consider about age-appropriate is that the older prospects that have significant experience often do not get much better. A 20-year-old in High A has another 5-7 years of expected improvement (till they hit their typical age 26-27 peak). An older player has fewer years to improve and thus is more likely to not get much better.
Taylor’s Clearwater numbers are clearly the more impressive half year to me. I see him as a top 5-10 prospect now for the Phillies while his first half of the year I was thinking he was a top 20 prospect.
Howard, as others have said, was that rare prospect that got significantly better after his age 23 season. We should not expect Taylor to make the same improvements, but it sure looks like we have a potential corner OF prospect that could be ready towards the end of next year.
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“does anyone know is MT a line drive hitter or does he lift”
Taylor had a great LD% rate at Clearwater this year – 21.2% Others might know a good rule of thumb on this, but I would say that is pretty damn good.
Some comps this year
Donald: 15%
Marson: 12.9% **
Cardenas: 22.5%
Golson: 12%
Slayden: 14%
Spencer: 14.7%
Snider (Jays top prospect): 14.4%
**People may get on me for this, but Marson’s GB rate (59.4%) makes me concerned, especially for someone with such a high BABIP. To read this data lead me to believe his BA (and hence, OBP and SLG) have been inflated by a lot of grounders in the hole. While Taylor also has a high BABIP, that can be legitimated by his high LD%. Basically, the more LDs, the less likely that the BAIBIP data is luck.
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Well Marsons LD% may be hindered by his one month where he has a 2.9%. Not surprisingly that month was his lowest BABIP at .304.
Now tell me which one stands out to you 15.7%, 19.2%, 2.9%, or 14.8%?
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Good to see Taylor getting recognized for his outstanding year.
As for the comparisons to Howard or anyone else, that talk is too premature. Ryan Howard didn’t become a true top prospect until he showed he could reproduce those numbers again.
Taylor had a great season which justifably created excitement about his future potential. But until he can back-up this season with another to show that it wasn’t an abberation, he does not merit the title as the best positional prospect since Howard…
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“he does not merit the title as the best positional prospect since Howard…”
Who else would even be in the discussion? Bourn? Marson? Cardenas? Donald? Put all those guys in the same system at the same time, and I think you can argue that Taylor would be the one that gets you the most excited.
On Marson: Yes, that’s low number number for the month, but that’s a red flag, not an excuse. An LD% that low means you just aren’t squaring up the ball for a long stretch.
I still like Marson a lot, particularly because of the plate discipline, and I agree with Phuture that he could still develop pop, but the guy has some problems in the deeper peripheral numbers.
53 and 59% GB rates the last two years are not good, and the numbers get worse in his first two years when he couldn’t hit at all.
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Just when I get excited about a prospect like marson. Now people are using numbers to downplay him. The only thing I saw was a guy who got on base a lot and had over three hundred average.And a kid who still has time to grow.
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“Now people are using numbers to downplay him. ”
Well, presumably, people are using ‘numbers’ to praise him too, no?
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Marson’s secondary average jumped up quite a bit this year. Guys without power generally have a tough time maintaining a high OB% as they move higher up. Marson’s OB% this season was by far a career best.
Catchers are notorious late bloomers. The power is coming. Not 25 HR power. But I think he’s going to end up a doubles machine with 10-12 HR a year. That will play.
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worrying about first and second years in pro ball is like
worrying about a child’s running before he could walk
they are over.
Marson should of at least got a look see at midseason
cutting SO-SO would of opened a roster spot. If he did well
ok if not send him back I am not a big believer in breaking a
player confidence by playing him. I am sure at time minor leaguers in this system felt hopeless.
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i am unfamilar with LD% some please enlighten me
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http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/statpages/glossary/
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A little bit off the subject. I remember when Tyler Cloud was signed a lot of people thought he was a good sign. Looking at his numbers he really struggled . What do you think the reason he struggle so much at williamsport.
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“Who else would even be in the discussion? Bourn? Marson? Cardenas? Donald? Put all those guys in the same system at the same time, and I think you can argue that Taylor would be the one that gets you the most excited.”
Right now, I’m more excited about both Marson and Donald than Taylor simply because they have produced their numbers at a higher level.
One can certainly make a valid arguement that Tayor gets you the most excited but it isn’t a slam-dunk…
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thanks PP
i hope MT is a low ball hitter like Utley and Howard since it
it so easy to lift a ball out here.
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“One can certainly make a valid arguement that Tayor gets you the most excited but it isn’t a slam-dunk…”
Hey, I agree with that, but you seemed to excluding him from the discussion in the earlier post. Marson, Donald and Taylor are all in the same ballpark for me (though I liked Cardenas more than all of them), but I think Taylor has the most upside…hence, the most excitement.
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Not excluding him from the discussion at all. Personally I would put him 3rd behind Donald/Marson mostly because of the positions they play and the levels where they compiled their numbers.
We will just have to disagree on Cardenas…
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