Michael Taylor
OF, Stanford (profile)
HT: 6'6" WT: 260 lbs.
2005: 59/58 GS/GP, .289 BA, .365 OBP, .422 OBP, 225 AB, 44 R, 65 H, 14 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 28 RBI, 23 BB, 29 K, 9 SB
2006: 60 GP/GS, .325 BA, .395 OBP, .482 SLG, 228 AB, 36 R, 74 H, 15 2B, 3 3B, 5 HR, 39 RBI, 22 BB, 32 K, 2 SB
Bio: Take one look at Michael Taylor and you probably think you're watching the next big thing in baseball or maybe football since his father played for the Maryland Terrapins back in the day. Looks can be deceiving and in Taylor's case it is quite true. Entering the 2004 draft, Taylor was a top prospect but he had Stanford on his mind for quite some time.
It's unclear where he'll be drafted right now. He has all the talent to be first round choice but he'll need to have a great season for that to happen (higher BA, more power). Is it conceivable that he could return for his senior year if he isn't taken in the first couple of rounds? I could see it happening since he is intent on getting his Stanford degree, which is not a bad thing. I don't know his academic standing and for all I know, he might graduate in three years. In Patrick Ebert's Overall Top 100 Draft Prospects at Brewerfan.net, Taylor isn't rated, while PG Crosschecker rated him 47th (.pdf file) in their Top 100 Cape Cod League Prospects, including 2006-2007 sophomores. He would be in the 30s if the sophomores were not ranked (Note: I believe Warren McFadden is draft-eligible as he is a red-shirt sophomore).
He appears as a bigger version of former Stanford Cardinal John Mayberry Jr. They're both 6'6" but Taylor has thirty pounds more on him, as well as a more defined physique. Mayberry also had a so-so career for the Cardinal since he only had one good season (as a sophomore in '04), when he hit 16 home runs. Mayberry still went in the first round in '05 after he hit eight home runs that season. The difference between the two is that it was a question of when Mayberry would hit for power and with Taylor it's if he will. Mayberry hit 21 home runs in 2006 while playing for Clinton in Low-A ball.
Important Series:
2/2/07-2/4/07: at Cal State Fullerton.
2/16/07-2/18/07: at Texas.
3/9/07-3/11/07: vs. USC.
3/30/07-4/1/07: vs. UCLA.
4/27/07-4/29/07: vs. Oregon State
5/25/07-5/27/07: at USC.
Taylor Links:
"Taylor stars in Alaska Baseball League" from the Stanford Daily.
Baseball America profiles Michael Taylor in the fall of `04.