Dodgers select Carson Taylor in the 4th round of the MLB Draft

The Dodgers selected Carson Taylor, a catcher out of Virginia Tech with their fourth-round selection, the 130th overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft.

The switch-hitting Taylor hit .431/.541/.690 with seven doubles and two home runs in 16 games in an abbreviated sophomore season in 2020. He hit .290/.389/.413 as a freshman in 2019.

Taylor as rated the 219th best-prospect in the draft by Baseball America, and ranked 194th by MLB.com.

From his MLB.com scouting report:

Taylor has considerable bat speed from both sides of the plate. He’s shown a good feel for the strike zone and has walked more than he’s struck out in his college career. While there’s a lot of raw power to tap into, Taylor gets pull-happy and out front on his swing too often to get to it consistently. He can make hard contact, but pitches on the outer third of the plate gave him trouble.

Taylor struggled in the Cape Cod League last summer, going just 5-for-33 (.152). He talked about the experience with 6-4-3 DP Athletics:

I got off to an 0-14 start. I was not striking out, but I was not happy with my performance. I was frustrated. I started asking myself, ‘Why did I decide to come up here? I shouldn’t be here basically. I should still be recovering at my house.’ But in my 15^th at-bat I hit a 3-run homerun, and I was better at the plate for the remainder of the month.

Overall, it was a really good experience for me. My time in the Cape taught me a ton. One of the biggest things was learning to alter my work habits. I have always had the label of being a hard-working player. I was blessed enough to watch a lot of guys in the Cape that had a ton of success up there. I watched them find ways to get better even while they were successful. They kept trying to improve. That stuck with me.

Another reason Taylor struggled in the Cape Cod League is he was injured.

“He broke his [right] hamate bone in his freshman year, and tried to play in the Cape Cod with it. He played hurt,” Billy Gasparino, Dodgers vice president of amateur scouting said Thursday. “As you piece his performance and track together, it all makes sense. We think the healthy version of Taylor is [who] showed up this year.”

The recommended bonus slot value for the 130th overall selection is $434,300. Teams have until Aug. 1 to sign all draft picks.