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AA St. Paul Saints

Chuck Taylor, All-Star, Saints Sign First Round Player Dispersal Draft Pick

August 28, 2020 - American Association (AA)
St. Paul Saints News Release


ST. PAUL, MN - The St. Paul Saints selected five players in the player dispersal draft, a selection of players from the six teams not participating in the 2020 American Association season. Three of those five are currently on the roster and contributing in a big way with Jameson McGrane leading the league in saves, Jose Velez becoming one of the most reliable lefties out of the bullpen, and Matt Pobereyko joining the Saints a few weeks ago and adding depth to the bullpen. Now the Saints are adding their first round draft pick, outfielder Chuck Taylor.

The 26-year-old Taylor was selected by the Washington Nationals in the Rule 5 Draft in December 2018 from the Seattle Mariners. In 2019 he spent 80 games at Double-A Harrisburg and 40 games at Triple-A Fresno. Between the two stops he hit .229 with 12 home runs and 44 RBI in 120 games. In 393 at bats he scored 47 runs, slugged 18 doubles, one triple, a .311 on base percentage, and .372 slugging percentage.

The switch-hitting Taylor was a fourth-round selection by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2012 out of Mansfield Timberview (TX) High School. He spent his entire first season in the rookie Arizona League where he hit .234 with 16 RBI in 52 games. In 205 at bats he scored 41 runs, had seven doubles, two triples, swiped 16 bases, a .288 on base percentage, and a .598 slugging percentage. Taylor finished tied for sixth in the league in runs and tied for eighth in stolen bases.

His talents started to shine in 2013 when Taylor spent the entire season in the rookie short-season Pioneer League with the Missoula Osprey. He hit .291 with three home runs and 25 RBI in 60 games. In 220 at bats he scored 38 runs, ripped 12 doubles, three triples, had a .385 on base percentage, and a .414 slugging percentage.

In 2014 Taylor continued to move up in the Nationals system spending the entire season with the Single-A South Bend Silver Hawks. He hit .285 with three home runs and 50 RBI in 109 games. In 400 at bats he scored 60 runs, smashed 17 doubles, four triples, stole 11 bases, a .380 on base percentage, and a .370 slugging percentage. Taylor had three lengthy on base streaks: 19 from April 30-May 30, 19 from June 15-July 11 and 20 from August 7-27. His first on base streak included a 13-game hitting streak from May 12-30. He hit the first of four career grand slams on August 3. Taylor finished fifth in the Midwest League in on base percentage and helped guide his team to the playoffs before they lost two-games-to-none in the quarterfinals.

In 2015, Taylor bounced back and forth between Single-A Kane County (73 games) in the Midwest League and High-A Visalia (48 games) in the California League. Between the two stops he hit .263 with two home runs and 33 RBI in 121 games. In 468 at bats he scored 61 runs, cracked 14 doubles, five triples, swiped 12 bases, had a .342 on base percentage, and a .327 slugging percentage. He made the playoffs with Visalia and they lost three-games-to-two in the semi-finals.

Taylor spent about five weeks on the disabled list in 2016 after starting the season in Visalia. After 42 games he was promoted to Double-A Mobile where he played 41 games. Between the two stops he hit .261 with four home runs and 30 RBI in 83 games. In 238 at bats he scored 38 runs, roped 11 doubles, four triples, had a .354 on base percentage, and a .391 slugging percentage.

Taylor was taken in the Minor League phase of the Rule 5 Draft in December, 2016 by the Seattle Mariners. The change of scenery turned Taylor into an All-Star. In 2017 Taylor spent the entire season at Double-A Arkansas and he hit .274 with nine home runs and 58 RBI in 122 games. In 471 at bats he scored 74 runs, smashed 25 doubles, three triples, stole 10 bases, had a .369 on base percentage, and a .397 slugging percentage. Taylor reached base in an impressive 31 consecutive games from April 16-May 20. Included in that streak was a career high 21-game hitting streak from April 27-May 20. He went four consecutive game with three hits from May 27-31. He hit his second career grand slam with a two home run, five RBI performance on July 17. Taylor was selected as a Texas League All-Star and went 1-4 with a home run and two RBI in the game. He finished the season tied for third in the league in walks (66), sixth in runs, seventh in on base percentage and tied for ninth in doubles.

In 2018, Taylor followed up his All-Star selection with an even more impressive season in Arkansas. He hit .297 with three home runs and 60 RBI in 126 games. In 502 at bats he scored 70 runs, stroked 25 doubles, three triples, had a .377 on base percentage, and a .376 slugging percentage. Taylor put together another impressive on base streak, reaching base safely in 26 consecutive games from May 26-June 28, that also included a 13-game hitting streak from June 12-28. He hit his third career grand slam on July 14. He finished the season tied for second in the Texas League in hits (149), fifth in on base percentage and walks (61), sixth in average, and ninth in games played. Taylor was selected as an MiLB.com Mariners Organizational All-Star. He once again made the playoffs, but lost three-games-to-two in the semi-finals.

The Saints also placed pitcher Eddie Medina on the inactive list, retroactive to August 19, and infielder Josh Allen (broken finger), retroactive to August 26.

The Saints have 22 players on the roster, one shy of the league maximum of 23, with 11 pitchers and 11 position players.

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