The Chicago White Sox played the reigning World Series Champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers, yesterday, where they lost by a score of 6-3.
The Dodgers brought what appeared to be their Opening Day lineup, minus Mookie Betts, to square off against the best the White Sox could offer.
The game had an exciting moment when White Sox right-hander Davis Martin struck out Shohei Ohtani, looking on what looked like a nasty backdoor breaking ball.
Davis Martin catches Shohei Ohtani looking 👀 pic.twitter.com/USoUGni6EB
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) March 2, 2025
The White Sox enter the second year of their rebuild, and it will feature their prospects trying to make a strong impression to make the big league roster.
The White Sox invited a good amount of them to camp as non-roster invitees, and one of them has been impressive and looks like he’s giving the White Sox a reason to keep giving him looks.
Chicago White Sox prospect looks impressive this spring
The White Sox’s eighth overall prospect in the organization is the 23-year-old Grant Taylor, who is pitching very well during his time in big league camp as a non-roster invitee. Taylor was the White Sox’s second-round draft pick in the 2023 MLB June Amateur Draft.
The LSU product spent last season in rookie ball and with the White Sox Single-A affiliate, where he was having a good season before suffering a lat issue. Before heading to the injured list, Taylor made five starts between the two levels, where he had a 2.33 ERA with 32 strikeouts in 19.1 innings pitched.
According to Baseball Savant, the 6-3 right-handers grades are gaudy with having an elite fastball (60/80) and cutter (60/80), with a curveball (55/80), slider (50/80), and a changeup (45/80). Grant Taylor could be a top-of-the-rotation piece if he lives up to his grades, or at the very least be a suitable number three, which would pair nicely with Schultz and Smith, who figures to be a one and two, respectively.
Taylor is making the case to be a big leaguer
Feb 20, 2025; Glendale, AZ, USA; Chicago White Sox pitcher Grant Taylor (81) poses for a photo on media day at the team’s spring training facility in Glendale, AZ. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Taylor is making a strong case this spring that he deserves to be in the big leagues sooner rather than later. In his first appearance, the Alabama native lit up the radar gun by throwing a 101.2mph fastball on Feb. 23.
Over the weekend, in the White Sox blowout of the Seattle Mariners, Taylor struck out two in his one inning of work, where he again hit triple digits.
“Grant Taylor had 2 K’s in his 1 IP on Saturday. Going Slide-step and still generating 100mph is bonkers.”
Grant Taylor had 2 K's in his 1 IP on Saturday. Going Slide-step and still generating 100mph is bonkers. pic.twitter.com/LYV3mAIdOR
— FutureSox (@FutureSox) March 2, 2025
What should also help Taylor get to the league is that his best buddy, a former teammate at LSU and the reigning National League Rookie of the Year, Paul Skenes, has confidence that Taylor will be up soon.
“I’ll talk to him, and he’ll tell me different stuff that he notices throughout the league, and he’s like, ‘You can be here very soon, dude,’” Taylor said during a recent Zoom. “He’ll tell me basically from what he saw when we were kind of going after it with each other, he’s super confident in me — and then seeing him do all the stuff and him being super confident believing in himself at the highest of the highest levels …
“He was one of the best in the league this year. It’s pretty cool for one of my good buddies to believe I can be right up there with him, and he’s at the top of the league.”
A future rotation piece
Feb 20, 2025; Glendale, AZ, USA; Chicago White Sox pitcher Grant Taylor (81) poses for a photo on media day at the team’s spring training facility in Glendale, AZ. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Taylor has only pitched in two innings this spring, so the likelihood of him breaking camp with the White Sox is slim.
Taylor will likely start his season at Double-A to see how he can fair against high-level competition.
If Taylor can build off the success from last season and this spring, he could be up with the White Sox at some point this season.
Chicago White Sox top arm experimenting with new pitch for the 2025 season
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