Underdogs need fans too
The Julio Rodríguezes of the world have no trouble drawing fans. Nor the J.P. Crawfords, Cal Raleighs, George Kirbys. The best players draw people in because they give fans the most to cheer for. But there’s also a type of fan who’s drawn to marginal players. These fans go wild for the backup catchers, utility guys, and mid-inning relievers. Samad Taylor is their kind of player.
Cleveland took him in the tenth round of the 2016 Draft and gave up on him pretty quickly. Not that tenth-round picks are ever that highly coveted, but even though he’d been playing well in Low-A, they moved on from him just a year later, trading him to Toronto for Joe Smith. (Yes, that Joe Smith.) When the Mariners picked him up a couple weeks ago for cash considerations or a player to be named later, it marked his fourth organization, which is a lot for a 25-year-old.
But he does have a standout skill: his 91st percentile sprint speed. Across all levels, Taylor’s stolen more than 100 bases over the past three years. And he was a perfect 8 for 8 in just 31 games as a rookie with Kansas City last year.
In the minors, he performed better than you’d expect for a tenth-rounder, and if you look at his FanGraphs page, you’ll see a lot of stops with a wRC+ above 100. His best years as a minor-leaguer were driven by a high BABIP and drawing a lot of walks.
It’s not hard to see why a fast guy who gets on base a lot can be valuable. Watch him wreak havoc on the Mets as he beats out a ground ball, then steals second without a throw, takes third on a wild pitch that the catcher kept in front of him, and scores on a sac fly.
The big knock on Taylor is the lack of big knocks—he’s never consistently hit the ball with authority. That’s a problem on its own, of course. But it also undercuts his two big offensive assets in the minors, which is why he never climbed prospect rankings despite the decent overall batting lines.
Taylor’s speed is a reason to think he’ll have a true-talent high BABIP, but don’t expect him to repeat the .360+ he ran at his successful minor-league stops. The minors have a structurally higher BABIP across the board as infielders work on their defensive consistency. Fast runners like Taylor cause them to rush, and they end up flustered a lot more often than J.P. Crawford does. But to eat up big leaguers, he’ll have to hit the ball harder. He gets an infield hit in the clip above, but it’s because he hit the ball so weakly that even Francisco Lindor didn’t get to it in time to make the play. That’s not a real asset.
As to his eye, keep in mind that when it comes to how tempting pitches outside the zone are, there’s no bigger jump in talent than from AAA to MLB. It’s one thing to lay off a slider from Darren McCaughen that’s outside the zone. It’s another thing to lay off one from Matt Brash. But even if Taylor’s eye is that good, a guy with his profile is likely to see a lot more strikes in the bigs. If he can’t do more damage, pitchers with MLB quality command and stuff won’t be afraid of him enough to let him get on base for free.
And while he’s got positional versatility, it’s more the kind where he’s passable at several spots (second, third, and an outfield corner) rather than being a whiz.
What that leaves is a pinch runner. And he’s pretty far down the Mariners’ depth chart for that. Sam Haggerty has a more advanced bat and has proven it at the MLB level. Ryan Bliss has a higher overall ceiling. Even if we’re talking pure pinch runner, Jonatan Clase is probably the best option available for that.
So don’t get too attached. He’s clinging onto a 40-man spot with his fingernails, which is why he was available for cash or a PTBNL. But the flip side of not getting attached is that he’s an underdog. If you’re the kind of fan who likes that, Samad Taylor’s one for you to watch this spring.
