Blake Taylor

Note: This page is for pitcher Blake Taylor who made his debut in 2020; for others with that name, click here.

Blake Michael Taylor

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 3", Weight 220 lb.
• High School Dana Hills High School
• Debut July 24, 2020

• Born August 17, 1995 in Orange, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Blake Taylor reached the majors at the start of the 2020 season.

He was picked by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2nd round of the 2013 amateur draft, the 51st overall pick. He was Pittsburgh's third selection, following Austin Meadows and Reese McGuire. He made his pro debut with the 2013 GCL Pirates, going 0-2 with a 2.57 ERA, allowing only 7 hits in 21 innings. He combined on a six-inning no-hitter against the GCL Blue Jays, working 3 shutout frames then Jerry Mulderig allowed an unearned run and Oderman Rocha closed it out. The Pirates lost, 1-0, in the game that was shortened due to its being the first end of a doubleheader (Pittsburgh had another 5 2/3 hitless innings pitched to open the second game of the twin bill).

He was then traded to the New York Mets with Zack Thornton and cash considerations for Ike Davis. He split 2014 between the Kingsport Mets (2-1, 5.34 ERA, 2.11 WHIP in 8 G) and the GCL Mets (2-0, 2 UER in 10 1/3 IP, 1 H, 7 BB). In 2015, he pitched for the GCL Mets (3 R in 3 IP) and the Brooklyn Cyclones (1 R in 9 IP) before Tommy John surgery ended his season. He allowed four runs in 8 2/3 IP for the 2016 Kingsport club.

Taylor was on the Great Britain national team for the 2017 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers, held in Brooklyn, where he had pitched in 2015. He got the start in the semifinals against Brazil, which was defending its spot from the 2013 World Baseball Classic. He went four innings, allowing five hits, two walks and two runs (both on a Leonardo Reginatto single) while fanning three before Chris Reed relieved with a 3-2 lead. Reed wound up getting the decision in a 4-3 win as Taylor had not worked enough innings. He had a rough season for the Columbia Fireflies of the South Atlantic League that year, as he went 1-9, 4.94 in 18 games (17 starts).

Blake had another poor win/loss record in 2018, as he was 1-8, 5.59 as a starter for the St. Lucie Mets of the Florida State League, but the Mets still gave him a chance to pitch briefly in AAA, as made a pair of starts helping out the Las Vegas 51s of the Pacific Coast League. He was the winner in both of these in spite of allowing 7 runs in 11 innings. In 2019, he was moved to the bullpen and had a very good season split between St. Lucie and the AA Binghamton Rumble Ponies (he also made 1 appearance with the Mets' new AAA affiliate, the Syracuse Mets). Combined, he went 2-3, 2.16 with 10 saves in 40 games and 74 strikeouts in 66 2/3 innings. On December 5th, he was one of two minor leaguers traded to the Houston Astros in return for CF Jake Marisnick, alongside Kenedy Corona.

Related Sites

• Blake Taylor on mlb.com
• BR Register page