While most Dodger fans have enjoyed the rise of potential Rookie of the Year Cody Bellinger and the resurgence of Yasiel Puig and Corey Seager, Chris Taylor has quietly established himself as one of the top clutch performers on the team.
Taylor isn’t exactly a newbie. He was drafted by Seatlle back in 2012, and was named their Minor League Player of the Year in 2013. The next year he made his major league debut with the Mariners and he did pretty well, hitting .287 with eight doubles. He didn’t repeat or improve on that performance in 2015, most likely due to a broken wrist after being hit by a pitch.
Last year the Dodgers traded Zach Lee to the Mariners in exchange for Taylor, and that deal is starting to show some real dividends. Taylor has steadily been compiling an impressive array of stats – on both sides of the ball – ever since getting his chance to play for the Dodgers.
He’s a bona fide offensive weapon in almost any slot of the lineup, he hits for power, he’s speedy on the basepaths.
solid with his outfield glove (the speed again helps), and he’s letting the league know they should think twice before running on him. Taylor now has four outfield assists, and he’s played five different positions, plus utility as a PH off the bench (batting .400).
Taylor has played in 77 games so far, and he’s slashing a very solid line of .305/.378/.516.894. Just over the past week he’s logged 12 hits, 3 doubles, 2 triples and 1 home run. Speaking of home runs, Taylor’s delivered three grand slams this year. He’s now got 11 homers for the season.
Did I mention Taylor is leading the Dodgers with 12 stolen bases? For comparison, Yasiel Puig is second with 10 swiped bags, and after that, the Dodgers running game runs off the page into nonexistence.
Chris Taylor has five multi-hit games, and he’s batted in every spot of the lineup. Even when he’s not hitting the ball hard, he manages to spray base hits around. The key being his ability to hit to almost all parts of the field, for average and power.
Bellinger gets most of the non-pitcher attention from the media, but there’s a guy named Taylor who’s putting in some work, and deserves a good share of the spotlight as well.
Oscar Martinez
I was born in the shadow of Dodger Stadium and immediately drenched in Dodger Blue. Chavez Ravine is my baseball cathedral, Vin Scully was the golden voice of summer all my life, and Tommy Lasorda remains the greatest Dodgers manager ever. My favorite things are coffee, beer, and the Dodgers beating the Giants. I also blog about my baseball card hobby at All Trade Bait, All the Time.
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On the dim side today, Taylor isn’t playing today!
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“Chris Taylor has five multi-hit games”….only five ?
Sounds low for a guy who puts the ball in play. Still he has been a great story this year. Hopefully he keeps it up.
Frankly, when the trade was made, my reaction was Chris Who???? He had flashes last year, and the Grand Slam against the D-Backs was cool, but he has re invented himself this year.