Projecting the Brewers’ Prospects: Tyrone Taylor

Looking good in that T-Ratts Hat!!! Photo: MiLB Player Profile Page

I have never been good at, or comfortable, projecting out a minor leaguer at the major league level.  There are way too many variables to look at and factor in.  Every single season the Brewers draft a handful of guys and all but (maybe, if we’re lucky) one of them will ever even sniff a major league diamond.  It can be due to injuries, lack of necessary work ethic, or being plain old not good enough.  So to sit here and pretend like I have any freaking idea what is going to happen with this kid over the next 3-5 years…is kind of futile.  But, like with most things in my life, I am up to the challenge.  My apologies if it does not meet your standards, but it is the best I can do.

Currently, Tyrone Taylor is the 2nd ranked prospect in the Brewers farm system.  He was our first overall (but 2nd round of picks) draft pick in the 2012 draft.  We didn’t even give him a chance to go to college and drafted him straight out of Torrance High School.  He is also a friend of the site, having sat down with Editor Justin Schultz twice this year.  Needless to say, we think very highly of this kid around RtB.  But that doesn’t necessarily mean he is going to project into a superstar (or does it?)…

This past season, he put up some nice offensive numbers: 133 hits, 8 HR’s, 57 RBI’s, and a .274 batting average.  I watched a few videos of him on-line (poor quality though, so it could have been anyone in those videos) and he appears to have some above average bat speed, but that is about it.  Not a whole lot of pop in that bat.  Of his home runs, I would have to assume that all of them came from him turning on a ball with that quick bat and hooking it inside the foul pole.  In High School he was labeled a push hitter, but this past season he showed the ability to spread the ball out more.  If I had to guess, I would say that he will probably evolve into an Aaron Rowand type offensive outfielder.  Before you turn up your nose at this, Rowand was a career .273 batter and had some pretty terrific offensive seasons paired with many mediocre ones.

It is becoming quite clear that Taylor will end up as a center fielder.  He started 108 games at the position this season for Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.  This could be problematic since we have a Gold Glove winner roaming the big grass at Miller Park.  But that is a concern for another day.  Center field makes sense for Tyrone, he has great speed and a fairly solid arm for a 19-year-old (turns 20, on January 22nd).  I read that he also takes good routes to track down the baseball when it is in flight.  This is an underrated ability that can almost counteract not having blazing speed (the kind Carlos Gomez has).  The arm is not a rocket, but it is probably just as strong as Khris Davis’…so there is that.

So how do I project Tyrone Taylor?  I don’t.  He has 3 more years in the minor league system…AT LEAST.  Most likely 4 to 5 years.  That is such a long time for a guy to develop his throwing arm and work on his batting approach, that it would be unwise of me to say who or what he will become at the major league level.  I will say that I like him as a defensive player, but not very much as an offensive threat.  For those of you playing along at home, I used to think the same thing about Carlos Gomez.  Things change.  Players grow.  Ask me again in 2 years.