Chicago White Sox Pitcher Grant Taylor Impresses In MLB Debut

The 6-foot-3, 23-year-old made quick work of Astros rookie Cam Smith, landing a first-pitch slider for a strike at 88.6 mph and jamming the right-handed batter with a 100 mph fastball to induce a ground out.

Taylor got ahead in the count against Jacob Melton, too, dropping in an 86.7 mph curveball at the bottom of the zone for strike one. Melton fouled off a pair of fastballs over 100 mph, then rolled over on a curveball to end the inning.

The 2023 second-round pick figures to boost a White Sox bullpen that ranks 22nd in MLB with a 4.38 ERA. General manager Chris Getz explained last week that they moved Taylor to the bullpen to manage his innings due to his injury history. And while he's had success in that role, the organization is open to their No. 6 prospect eventually moving back to the starting rotation down the road.

"It's a very talented arm and there's different ways to develop players," Getz said. "We know that although we've got him in shorter stints right now, we're certainly not closing the door on him being a starter in the future. You look at as close of an example as Garrett Crochet and his bullpen days and then transitioning to be a starter and what that has done for Garrett's career and has done for the White Sox."

"Every time he pitches, I'm pretty excited to read the reports or look at video from the night prior. He's above 100 mph, he's commanding the zone, the off-speed stuff is really strong. It's very clear that hitters are uncomfortable in the box. They try to get him early. So it's either weak contact or perhaps they'll get him on a hit once in a while. But once they get to two strikes it gets over fairly quickly."