Milwaukee Brewers: What happened to Tyrone Taylor?

Not all prospects pan out.  Number one prospects, though, come with different expectations.  The Milwaukee Brewers generally have good success in that department.

In light of the recent call up of the 2017 number one Milwaukee Brewers prospect Lewis Brinson, questions of past top youngsters came to mind. One name in particular stood out: Tyrone Taylor.

Taylor was the highest rated prospect in the Brewers organization back in 2014, but since has fallen from grace.  The question still remains, what happened to Tyrone Taylor?  A quick answer is that he is still in the farm system, but is far removed from MLB Pipelines top 30 ranking.

The good news is that Taylor is only 23 years old.  There is still plenty of time for him.  It seems like he is finally getting the pieces put together with his .361 batting average over two different levels.

It has been a long road so far for the right handed outfielder, and he hasn’t surpassed the Double A level.  Taylor was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers half a decade ago out of high school.  He got taken in the second round, and immediately started climbing the prospect boards.

This came after hitting nearly .400 in his first professional season in 2012.  He followed that by hitting .274 with 19 stolen bases in Advanced A ball.  Before he knew it, 2014 he was touted as the best prospect in the organization.

To be fair, it was not exactly a potent farm system at the time.  Even being ranked at the top of the organization, Taylor was not in the top 100 overall.  While getting to the top of an organization is hard, having a weak system helps.  Now that there is a strong prospect base, Taylor has fallen out of being a prospect of conversation.

2014 and 2015 were both season that yielded very little to be excited about.  In fact, his first Double A experience in 2014 ended with a .077 batting average.  For a guy who has speed as a main tool, that is extra bad.  Granted, it was only through five games.

But fear not.  The Milwaukee Brewers never ending list of future outfield studs in 2017 may be getting one name longer.  Taylor is currently hitting .316 since being promoted back to AA.  A move that was inevitable based on his batting average that exceeded .430 in Rookie ball.

Up and down has been the story of Taylor’s career.  He may not ever see the light of day in Milwaukee based purely on the potentially talent level of the outfield.  But his plus speed and contact make him an interesting player going forward.  If he can work his way back into prominence in the farm system, he could potentially get moved to another organization.  That would more than likely be the best value he provides for the Crew.

Next: Granderson on the Brewers radar

Curretly, Taylor is residing on the 7-Day DL.  With his great season, don’t be surprised to hear his name a little more.  Though the team may not be as high on him as they once were, the former second rounder is once again proving that he can play.