Michael Taylor Named Eastern League Rookie of the Year
August 23, 2014 - Eastern League (EL1) News Release
Portland, ME - The Eastern League of Professional Baseball is pleased to announce that Harrisburg Senators outfielder Michael Taylor has been selected as the 2014 Eastern League Rookie of the Year. Taylor made his Double-A debut with Harrisburg this season after hitting .263 with 41 doubles, 10 homers and 87 RBI and being selected as a Carolina League All-Star as a member of the Potomac Nationals last season. The 23-year old was even more impressive with Harrisburg this season, batting .313 (120-for-384) with 17 doubles, two triples, 22 home runs, 61 RBI, 74 runs scored, 34 steals, a .396 on-base percentage and a .539 slugging percentage in 98 games for the Senators this season before receiving a promotion to Triple-A Syracuse on August 4th. It turned out to be a short stay in Syracuse for Michael, as he was promoted to the Washington Nationals on August 10th and went 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBI in his MLB debut on August 12th in a 7-1 win over the Mets at Citi Field. Taylor, who is a native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, led the Eastern League in OPS (.935) at the time of his promotion to Triple-A. He was also ranked among the leaders in slugging percentage (.539-2nd), total bases (207-2nd), runs scored (74-2nd), home runs (22-3rd), on-base percentage (.396-4th), stolen bases (34-4th) and batting average (.313-6th).
The 6'3", 210 lb. slugger was selected as an outfielder on the recently announced Eastern League All-Star Team and was the Eastern League Player of the Month for the month of May after hitting .374 with nine homers and 22 RBI in 29 games during the month. He also played for the US Team at the MLB Futures Game in Minnesota and was a member of the Western Division roster during the Eastern League All-Star Game in Altoona. In the annual Baseball America "Best Tools" issue Taylor was selected as being the "Best Batting Prospect", "Fastest Baserunner", "Best Defensive Outfielder" and "Most Exciting Player" in the Eastern League this season.
Michael, who entered the 2014 season rated by MLB.com as the fourth best prospect in the Nationals organization, was selected by the Washington Nationals in the sixth round of the 2009 draft out of Westminster Academy in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Erie SeaWolves outfielder Steven Moya finished second in the voting for the Rookie of the Year Award and Richmond Flying Squirrels shortstop Matt Duffy finished in third place. The award was voted on by respective Eastern League managers and media members.
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