Taylor was selected by the Buccos in the second round of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft.
Two bits of good news were released by the Mets today as the team begins its rubber game with the San Diego Padres. First of all, the speculation regarding the player to be named later in the Ike Davis trade can be put to rest. Second, that player has been named, and his name is Blake Taylor.
Taylor is a left-handed pitcher who was chosen by Pittsburgh out of high school with the 51st overall pick in last season's First-Year Player Draft. As an 18-year-old in the Gulf Coast League last season, he allowed six earned runs in 21 innings for a 2.57 ERA, but he only struck out 13 batters.
Here's a scouting report from earlier this year by PiratesProspects.com:
Taylor throws his fastball in the 89-92 MPH range with good movement. He has touched mid-90s with the pitch in the past, and could eventually get to the point where he is sitting low-to-mid 90s as a starter. The one downside to his fastball is that he lacks command of the pitch, leading to some control problems. The Pirates do a good job of teaching fastball command in the lower levels, so Taylor could benefit from that focus in 2014.
This is an interesting choice by the Mets, since they have trended towards high-control pitchers in the recent past. Either way, though, it is going to be a long time until Taylor makes an impact in the major leagues. The other player acquired in the Davis trade, right-handed reliever Zack Thornton, should have a more immediate impact with the Mets, but he has a decidedly lower ceiling than the young, toolsy Taylor.