Troy Taylor is an under-the-radar pitcher to maintain your eye on within the Seattle Mariners system. A 22-year-old right-hander who was taken within the twelfth spherical of the 2022 draft out of the University of California Irvine, Taylor impressed evaluators within the Arizona Fall League with a two-pitch combine that has him well-positioned for a future position as a big-league reliever.

“I’m a big fan of what he can do athletically, as a mover,” stated a scout I spoke to. “His stuff is good. He’s a guy who probably ends up in the bullpen with the Mariners, and sooner rather than later.”

He’s already come a good distance. Taylor was an infielder at Rancho Cucamonga’s Los Osos High School, and when he did sometimes take the mound — “I closed a couple of times” — all he actually did was throw as exhausting he might. It wasn’t till he obtained to Cyprus Junior College, after which to UC-Irvine, that he “actually started learning how to pitch.”

Taylor has understandably discovered much more in regards to the nuances of his craft since signing with Seattle, however he nonetheless stays something however a technician. Topping out at 98 mph and sometimes averaging “five and some change,” he nonetheless tries to throw his heater as exhausting as he can. He identifies as an influence pitcher.

Adding a 3rd pitch is a purpose — the Mariners have him engaged on a changeup to make use of in opposition to left-handed hitters — however his fastball-slider mixture will all the time be his bread and butter. The former will not be solely his finest pitch, it has distinctive traits.

“I have a lot of run on my fastball,” defined Taylor. “I throw with four seams, but it comes out with about 16-to-20 inches of run. Technically it tags as a sinker, but I throw a four-seam fastball. I think the run comes from my lower arm slot. I don’t try to make it run, it just comes from my natural slot.”

His complementary providing grades out as solid-plus and is modeled after the one thrown by a younger Mariners reliever who logged a 34.7% strikeout price final yr.

“We’ve been trying to shoot for sweep on my slider,” Taylor advised me. “The goal is 85 [mph] with low teens of sweep in the zone. That’s the biggest part of it, throwing it hard and in the zone. They teach us the Matt Brash spiked slider, so I’m throwing that one.”

Taylor had a 31.0% strikeout price to go together with a 3.38 ERA over 45-and-a-third innings this previous season between Low-A Modesto and High-A Everett.

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RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS

Charles Johnson went 6 for 8 in opposition to Wayne Gomes.

John Roseboro went 10 for 23 in opposition to Catfish Hunter.

Earl Battey went 11 for 23 in opposition to Paul Foytack.

Roy Campanella went 15 for 32 in opposition to Hoyt Wilhelm.

Elston Howard went 25 for 65 in opposition to Juan Pizarro.

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HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS HOWARD-HOMER BONUS

Ryan Howard went 6 for 9 with 5 residence runs vs Braden Looper.

Frank Howard went 5 for six with 4 residence runs vs Larry Sherry.

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Another pitcher who impressed within the Arizona Fall League has been flying each bit as far under the radar because the aforementioned Troy Taylor.

“The pitching here — especially the starting pitching — hasn’t been all that great in recent years,” a scout advised me. ‘But there are some arms that make you go, ‘OK, that guy is probably going to be in the big leagues.’ One of them is Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa. “That look at the all-star game was like, ‘Whoa, that fastball has got serious life. He turned me on.”

A 23-year-old right-hander whom the Texas Rangers took within the thirtieth spherical of the 2019 draft, Hoopii-Tuionetoa retired all three batters he confronted within the Fall Stars Game, two by way of strikeout. All advised, the Wailuku, Hawaii native made 9 appearances within the AFL, logging 10 strikeouts and permitting simply 4 hits over nine-and-two-thirds innings His regular-season numbers, which got here primarily on the two A-Ball ranges, included a 2.96 ERA and a 25.0% strikeout price.

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A random obscure former participant snapshot:

Hack Miller completed his transient big-league profession with a .444/.500/.788 slash line. On April 23, 1944, within the first of his 11 profession plate appearances, the right-handed-hitting backstop bashed an eighth-inning, three-run homer to present the Detroit Tigers a 4-3 win over the Cleveland Indians. On July 5 of the next yr, Miller went 3-for-4 in what could be last MLB sport because the Tigers topped the Boston Red Sox 9-8. Detroit went on to win the 1945 World Series in seven video games over the Chicago Cubs.

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A quiz:

Four gamers logged greater than 1,700 hits within the Nineties. Craig Biggio and Tony Gwynn had been two. Who had been the others? (a touch: they had been teammates for one season, however not in that decade.)

The reply will be discovered under.

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NEWS NOTES

Gift Ngoepe has been employed to handle the Diamondbacks’ Arizona Complex League affiliate. The 33-year-old native of Pietersburg, South Africa performed in 28 video games for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2017 and in 13 video games for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2018.

The Seattle Mariners have employed Danny Farquhar to the place Major League Pitching Strategist/Assistant Pitching Coach. The 36-year-old former big-league reliever, who suffered a ruptured mind aneurysm whereas pitching for the Chicago White Sox in 2018, mentioned his transition from participant to educate in my November 21, 2021 Sunday Notes column.

Mike McCarthy will probably be serving because the pitching coach for the Atlanta Braves’ Triple-A affiliate, the Gwinnett Stripers, this coming season. The 36-year-old erstwhile minor-league hurler was the Oakland A’s bullpen coach final season.

Bud Harrelson, a switch-hitting shortstop who performed for the New York Mets from 1965-1977 earlier than ending his profession with the Philadelphia Phillies and the Texas Rangers, died on Thursday at age 79. Known primarily for his protection, Harrelson slashed .236/.327/.288 with an 80 wRC+ and 19.1 WAR.

Billy Gardner, an infielder who performed for 5 groups from 1954-1963 and later managed the Minnesota Twins and the Kansas City Royals, died earlier this week at age 96. The Waterford, Connecticut native was a part of two World Series championship groups, the 1954 New York Giants and the 1961 New York Yankees.

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The reply to the quiz is Mark Grace and Rafael Palmeiro, who performed along with the Chicago Cubs in 1988.

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A number of days in the past I ran a Twitter ballot — this with a caveat that numbers aren’t every little thing — asking if Pie Traynor must be within the Hall of Fame. Inducted in 1948, the longtime Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman completed with 2,416 hits, 58 residence runs, a 107 wRC+, and 37.9 WAR over a profession that spanned the 1920-1937 seasons.

The ballot outcomes had been something however favorable. Only 37.6% of the individuals who voted really feel that Traynor belongs, whereas 62.4% are of the opinion that he doesn’t. Count me among the many minority. Putting his profession and the evolution of the sport into context, the Framingham, Massachusetts native is a clear-cut Cooperstown-worthy choice.

Do Traynor’s numbers pale compared to these of different Hall of Fame third basemen, to not point out numerous notables who're on the surface wanting in (hey Sal Bando, Buddy Bell, Ken Boyer, and Graig Nettles)? Without a doubt. But once more, context is required. During his time, and for roughly twenty years to observe, Traynor was thought of by many to be the very best third baseman in baseball historical past. Much for that purpose, in 1948 he turned the primary at that place to be voted into the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA (Jimmy Collins, who performed from 1895-1908, was elected by way of the Veterans Committee in 1945).

Traynor’s B-Ref bio web page informs that he “was generally considered the best the sport produced from 1876-1950,” whereas his glorious SABR Bio Project biography, penned by James Forr, echoes these phrases with “people once called Traynor the best third baseman in history.”

Again, Traynor’s numbers — actually by fashionable requirements — don’t again up his inclusion. That stated, his popularity and fame inside the context of his profession very a lot do. That ought to undoubtedly matter.

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FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Lachlan Wells fanned 14 batters whereas permitting simply two hits over six innings for the Australian Baseball League’s Adelaide Giants in a 4-0 win over the Sydney Blue Sox on Thursday. The 26-year-old left-hander, who's 6-0 with a 0.63 ERA on the season, signed a minor-league cope with the Philadelphia Phillies final weekend.

Quincy Latimore is slashing .307/.389/.425 and has gone deep twice in 144 plate appearances with Adelaide. The 34-year-old outfielder has performed in 2,000 skilled video games, together with 1,118 stateside in affiliate ball, and has 1,900 hits.

Matt Davidson has signed with the KBO’s NC Dinos. The 32-year-old former MLB infielder spent final season with NPB’s Hiroshima Carp.

NPB’s Yokohama DeNA BayStars have signed Anthony Kay. The 28-year-old left-hander pitched for each the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets final season.

Miller Hogan has a 1.10 ERA to go together with 30 strikeouts and simply two walks in 32-and-two-thirds innings for the Puerto Rican Winter League’s Gigantes de Carolina. The 27-year-old right-hander pitched within the Tampa Bay Rays group from 2018-2022 earlier than spending 2023 with the impartial American Association’s Kansas City Monarchs.

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Left on the cutting-room flooring from my Victor Scott II interview that ran right here at FanGraphs on Tuesday was what he advised me a few favourite interest. Not his burgeoning rap profession — that was the interview topic — however fairly his expertise with a sport whose all-time greats embody Earl Anthony and Pete Weber. The 22-year-old St. Louis Cardinals outfield prospect is a kegler.

“I’ve worked at a bowling alley since I was around 14 or 15,” defined Scott, who grew up in Atlanta. “My dad was a security guard at Midtown Bowl, and his hours were 12am to 3am every Saturday night. He’d say, ‘Hey, if you want to make a little bit of lunch money, come with me.’ While I was there, I would do some bowling.”

Scott began getting extra severe in regards to the sport final offseason. Not solely did he buy two bowling balls — “a strike one and a spare one” — in addition to his personal sneakers and bag, he started educating himself on “the oil patterns and the boards, kind of becoming a scientist in the bowling game.”

The speedy fly-chaser hadn’t but bowled a 300 on the time we spoke, though he had scored as excessive as 250. His current scores included a 215 and a 211, so by his personal admission he’s no Mookie Betts.

“I think Mookie is like 250 to 270 consistently, so I’m not at his level,” stated Scott. “At least not yet, Maybe someday.”

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LINKS YOU’LL LIKE

MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy wrote about Australia native Luisa Gauci, whom the Milwaukee Brewers have employed as a hitting coach for his or her Arizona Complex League affiliate.

Miranda Remaklus of Redbird Rants wonders why the St. Louis Cardinals miscommunicate damage points with the fanbase.

The Score’s Travis Sawchik seemed again at Chicago’s Comiskey Park and the retro constructing increase.

The KBO will probably be instituting a number of rule modifications within the upcoming season, one among which is robotic umpires. Jee-ho Yoo has the story at Yonhap News Agency.

Gene Baker turned the primary Black supervisor for an affiliated minor league group when he took the reins of the New York-Penn League’s Batavia Pirates on June 19, 1961. Ben Blumenu wrote about it for SABR’s Game Project.

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RANDOM FACTS AND STATS

Jackie Robinson slashed .349/.468/.462 with 40 stolen bases for the Montreal Royals in his lone minor league season.

Satchel Paige went 11-4 with a 1.86 ERA over 111 innings for the Triple-A International League’s Miami Marlins in 1956. He did so in his age-50 season.

Dan Uggla’s 190 residence runs from 2006-2011 had been essentially the most from a second baseman over that six-year span. His 425 walks had been additionally essentially the most at his place.

Luis Arraez is 16 for 27 with two residence runs and three walks in 30 plate appearances at Nationals Park.

David Wright had 6,872 PAs, 1,777 hits, 2.945 complete bases, and 51.2 WAR.Manny Machado has 6,874 PAs, 1,737 hits, 3,045 complete bases, and 50.2 WAR.

Nellie Fox acquired 74.7% of the vote in his fifteenth and last yr of BBWAA Hall of Fame eligibility. Twelve years later, in 1997, the longtime Chicago White Sox second baseman was voted in by the Veteran’s Committee.

On at this time’s date in 1963, the Baltimore Orioles acquired Luis Aparicio and Al Smith from the Chicago White Sox in trade for Hoyt Wilhelm, Pete Ward, Ron Hansen, and Dave Nicholson. Aparicio gained a pair of Gold Gloves, swiped 166 bases, and gained a World Series in his 5 seasons as an Oriole. Wilhelm had 41 wins, 99 saves, and a 1.92 ERA in his six seasons on the South Side.

Edwin Jackson was traded from the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Tampa Bay Rays on at this time’s date in 2006. The right-hander, whom the Dodgers had drafted in June 2001, subsequently modified organizations 17 extra occasions by way of commerce or free company earlier than pitching his final big-league sport in 2019.

Players born on at this time’s date embody Terry Forster, a left-handed pitcher who logged 54 wins and 127 saves whereas showing in 614 video games for 5 completely different groups from 1971-1986. One of the very best hitting pitchers in historical past, Forster slashed .397/.413/.474 over 86 plate appearances. He went 1-for-1 on 19 completely different events.

Also born on at this time’s date was Smead Jolley, a prolific hitter who is taken into account to have been one of many worst defensive gamers in baseball historical past. The hulking slugger slashed .305/.343/.478 over 1,815 big-league plate appearances with the Chicago White Sox and the Boston Red Sox from 1930-1933, whereas his numbers within the Pacific Coast League had been that of legend. In the four-year span that preceded his time within the American League, Jolley batted a cumulative .385 with 138 residence runs for the San Francisco Seals. After washing out of MLB as a result of his defensive ineptitude, he returned to the PCL and batted .366 with 52 residence runs for the Hollywood Stars over the following two seasons.

Content Source: blogs.fangraphs.com