Friday, December 30, 2016

DrB's 2017 Giants Top 50 Prospects: #24 Cory Taylor

Cory Taylor, RHP.  DOB:  12/14/1993.  6'2", 255 lbs.  Drafted 2015 Round 8 out of Dallas Baptist U.

2015 SS:  2-0, 2.45, 33 IP, 3.27 BB/9, 13.64 K/9, GO/AO= 1.87.
2016 A:  9-5, 2.58, 97.2 IP, 2.30 BB/9, 9.22 K/9, GO/AO= 1.78.
2016 AA:  1-0, 0.75, 12 IP, 3.86 BB/9, 7.50 K/9, GO/AO= 1.50.
2016 A+:  1-1, 6.75, 9.1 IP, 3.86 BB/9, 10.61 K/9, GO/AO= 1.13.

Cory Taylor was used as a multiple inning reliever in his first pro summer after being drafted by the Giants.  He was moved into a starting role in his first full pro season starting with the Augusta Greenjackets.  He made the most of that opportunity, then had two excellent late season starts for AA Richmond before stumbling a bit with SJ at the very end of the season.  We'll chalk up the stumble to SSS and late season fatigue.

Taylor is stocky, but in the video I saw, he did not look like he weighs 255 lbs.  I would estimate more 220-230.  I don't have much of a scouting report but the combination of K rate and groundball tendency  is a positive indicator of future success.  In the only video I could find, shot by Roger Munter, Taylor gets a K on a really good changeup that dives and fades away from a LH batter.  That is another indicator of future success.

I would expect to see him pitching for San Jose next season, but he did have success in 2 AA starts and last year's SJ pitching staff was not stellar, so he could get a spot in the Richmond rotation.

5 comments:

  1. The Pavolvic interview on CSN talked about the impact of the Matt Duffy trade. Players feeling like "if the Giants can trade Duffy they can trade anyone". That does not sound like great clubhouse morale. Giants FO has some work to do to reassure everyone, not just the major but maybe the minor league too.

    This past year's trade deadline we saw 3 top 10 prospect traded. When the trade deadline comes around again this year how it may impact prospects psyche and performance.

    Bobby Evan seems to be willing to trade anybody for the future of the team ,which may seem to be great on paper. But I'm starting to wonder if this mentality hurts the team more than it helps. The 2016 team on paper probably most talented than the other championship teams but lack of strong team chemistry this year from the bullpen and the Duffy trade dismantled the giants' chance for another championship.

    http://www.csnbayarea.com/giants/giants-2016-year-review-their-own-words

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    1. Wow! I am not sure in what world Matt Duffy would be considered untouchable. Trades have always been a part of baseball. A team executive would not be doing his duty if he/she avoided trades purely to avoid hurt feelings in the clubhouse.

      I personally have a moral issue with the whole system of trading in sports. That players are commodities that can be traded without their permission seems to me to be a vestige of a bygone era. But as long as trading is part of the game then GM's have a duty to make trades to improve the team. Simple as that and the players need to accept it and move on. If they don't like it, then they need to work through their representatives in the MLBPA to get that Byzantine policy changed.

      As for Giants players feeling insecure after the Duffy trade, that is just ridiculous. Buster Posey is not going to be traded. Madison Bumgarner is not going to be traded. The Brandons are extremely unlikely to be traded. Almost everybody else on the team is subject to trade and the Duffy trade had no impact on that at all.

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    2. He looked close to 250 to me. A little shorter and considerably thicker than my brother in his heyday and he was 235. And definitely thicker than my friend Tim (HS MLB) who was the same height and 230.

      I think what makes it hard to judge is that he's really thick in the legs. I mean we're talking serious man-thighs full of muscle. And he's got a very solid bubble. Then an almost a barrel chest that's packing a lot of meat on it.

      And I did a bit of photo comparing with Madbum. He looks bigger than Bumgarner who is well built and comes in at 250 but spreads it over a 6' 5" frame and carries less fat.

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    3. I think the bullpen was the issue not the Matt Duffy trade. Dropping from a their recent historical average of 70%+ save rate to a 55% save rate cost the Giants a lot of games. Conservatively 10 games with a strong case made for 14.

      However the rest of the team remained strong. The Giants WAR (offense & defense) was 3rd in MLB. The starting pitching, despite Cain & Peavy, was 6th in WAR.

      But hhe Giants relievers were 22nd in WAR and only managed 43 saves while leading MLB with 30 blown saves.

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  2. It's easy to forget that the Giants were already in free-fall when the Duffman was traded:
    At the All Star break 7/10: 57-33 .633, woo hoo!
    At the trade deadline 7/31: 61-44, or 4-11 .364 including Duffy
    End of regular season 10/2: 87-75, for 26-31 .456 without Duffy
    During the 17-game July crash-and-burn, Bumgarner, Cueto, Samardzija, AND Peavy were all 0-2 (each of them!), Cain was 2-1 but only one game was decent, he well could have been 1-2.
    What happens with the Giants in 2017 revolves more on what happens in RF then what happens at 3B!
    After the AS break in 2016, the Giants started 2-11 before Hunter came back. The Giants need at least one stud OFer! Last year Pence was barely close to being a stud, and SF fell short but not because of 3B -- it was messed-up BP and no reliable closer.

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