Graham Taylor

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Miami Marlins #30 prospect in 2009
  Taylor won't wow anyone with his raw repertoire, as evidenced by his $10,000 signing bonus out of Miami (Ohio), but it's hard to argue with his results. He has gone 28-16, 3.07 while pitching his way to Double-A by the end of his third pro season, posting a career 4.9-1 strikeout-walk ratio. If the commissioner's office hadn't blocked the Cubs from including significant cash in a proposed trade that would have sent Jacque Jones to the Marlins in mid-2007, Taylor reportedly would have been sent to Chicago. He succeeds by mixing his pitches and pounding the strike zone. He has a sneaky 85-89 mph fastball with plus life, a big-breaking slurve and a changeup with good tailing action. When he gets on a roll, he's a groundball machine. Deception is part of his delivery, as Taylor hides the ball well and confuses hitters. He works fast, follows the gameplan and has strong mound presence. Conditioning has been an issue in the past, but he has worked hard to lose the bad-body tag. Taylor battled his command a bit after a late callup to Double-A in 2008, but he'll return there this season and the Marlins will keep pushing him up the ladder until he fails.
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  Ranked Miami Marlins #29 prospect in 2008
  If the commissioner's office hadn't blocked the Cubs from including a significant amount of money in a proposed Jacque Jones trade in June, Taylor reportedly would have been the player going from Florida to Chicago. He doesn't have overpowering stuff, which makes him easy to overlook in a pitching-rich system, yet his command is something to behold. Through his first two pro seasons, the underwhelming lefty has posted a 186-27 K-BB ratio in 240 innings. He has done it with a sneaky 85-89 mph fastball that has excellent movement, as well as a much-improved slurve for which he learned a new grip last season. His improving changeup shows good tailing action, and when he gets on a roll he's a groundball machine. There's a little funk to his delivery, as Taylor hides the ball well enough to make his stuff play up. He works fast, follows the gameplan and has strong mound presence. The Marlins were pleased when Taylor followed their suggestion to drop 15 pounds after his first pro season, but he'll always carry the bad-body tag. He shows good intelligence and makeup. As a college senior sign, Taylor has been older than most of the other players at each level he has pitched. That tends to knock him down a peg, especially after he got shelled in a two-start audition at high Class A at the end of 2007. That's where he'll start in 2008.