Will Taylor

Clemson routinely turns out professional athletes, but it’s perhaps a bit more rare for the program to have not one, but two commits to the football program who are also potential first-round talents on the baseball field. That’s the case this year with Taylor and Georgia two-way player Bubba Chandler. Taylor is a three-star athlete, according to 247Sports, and has gotten interest from Clemson as a quarterback and slot receiver, in addition to being a standout high school wrestler. Taylor jumped on draft boards in a big way last summer when he was arguably the most impressive performer at East Coast Pro, standing out for his running ability and hitting performance. He clocked a 6.45-second 60-yard dash and is a double-plus runner, and he also showed an ability to square up velocity and sit back and drive offspeed stuff. Taylor gets a bit rigid in his swing at times, but he has shown bat speed, the ability to manipulate the barrel and a line-drive approach that suits his running ability. Scouts think he has a chance to be an above-average hitter with the speed to profile as a leadoff type. His power is the one tool that evaluators question. It’s below-average now, but Taylor did add strength to his 6-foot, 175-pound frame over the offseason and could continue to get more physical in the future but barring a significant development in that area in addition to a more leveraged swing, he’s unlikely to be a huge power threat. Taylor will take some inconsistent routes in the outfield currently, but he has the running ability, foot speed and explosion to develop into a plus defensive center fielder, with above-average arm strength on top of it. The teams highest on Taylor’s hitting ability and swing likely have him as a first-round talent, but most of the industry sees him as a top-50 type in a class that gets fairly jumbled beyond the first 20 players. His football and baseball commitment to Clemson could complicate things depending on where he lands.