One Pirates Prospect to Watch in Arizona Fall League

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have a few top prospects in the Arizona Fall League, but one of their prospects could use this next month as a great way to end their campaign heading into 2026.

Outfielder Will Taylor is on the Salt River Rafters, amongst seven other Pirates prospects on the team, which also includes prospects from the Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Angels.

Will Taylor in the Arizona Fall League

Taylor hit his first home run in the Arizona Fall League against the Glendale Desert Dogs on Oct. 15, hitting a 91.8 mph sinker off of [pitcher], sending it 100 mph and 394 feet to get his team on the board, down 7-1 in the third inning.

Salt River would eventually come back and win 12-9, thanks to a two-run home run from Pirates prospect Esmerlyn Valdez later in the fourth inning and then scoring four runs in both the seventh and ninth innings.

Taylor has had his issues from the plate so far with Salt River, slashing .182/.308/.545 for an OPS of .853, with just two hits in 11 at-bats a double, the home run, and two walks to four strikeouts.

He has gotten opportunities, starting in right field vs. the Mesa Solar Sox on Oct. 9, in center field twice vs. Glendale on Oct. 15 and then again vs. the Surprise Saguaros.

Will Taylor's 2025 Season in the Pirates Minor League System

Taylor started the 2025 season with Single-A Bradenton and excelled, slashing .333/.424/.569 for an OPS of .993 in 29 games, with 34 hits in 102 at-bats, 10 doubles, one triple, four home runs, 19 RBIs, 16 walks to 30 strikeouts and eight stolen bases on 14 attempts.

He originally missed most of the early part of the season, playing three games before going on the 7-day injured list on April 11, before returning on May 4.

Taylor then earned promotion to High-A Greensboro, where he stayed healthy the rest of the season, but didn't have the same success as he did with Bradenton.

He slashed .231/.351/.410 for an OPS of .761 in 64 games, 54 hits in 234 at-bats, 10 doubles, one triple, 10 home runs, 43 RBIs, 33 walks to 76 strikeouts and 15 stolen bases on 22 attempts.

Taylor had his best month with Greensboro in July, slashing .257/.391/.486 for an OPS of .877, but then after hitting .230 in August, he slashed .133/.212/.333 for an OPS of .545 in eight games in September.

That included just four hits in 30 at-bats, with two home runs for five RBIs, but also no hits in eight at-bats in the two losses to the Brooklyn Cyclones, the High-A affiliate of the New York Mets, in the South Atlantic League North Division Final.

He spent most of his season in center field, starting 58 games there, while also starting 13 of 14 games in right field, 12 games in left field and eight games at designated hitter.

A Wild Journey for Will Taylor to the MLB

Taylor hails from Irmo, S.C. and was a two-sport star, excelling at both baseball and football, plus wrestling and track and field. He came from an athletic family, with his grandfather playing football and baseball at The Citadel and then his father wrestling at the school.

He attended Ben Lippen School in Columbia, S.C. for his first three years of high school, before transferring to Dutch Fork High School for his senior year.

Taylor excelled at all his sports, serving as a three-time state champion in wrestling, a member of the track and field state championship team, plus winning the state championship as a senior in football.

He threw for 2,237 yards, completing 136-of-203 passes for 21 touchdowns to four interceptions as as a senior and rushed for 448 yards on 60 carries for 11 touchdowns.

Taylor committed to Clemson as a three-star for football as a senior in the Class of 2021, but had previously committed as a junior for baseball.