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The Dodgers have signed catcher Carson Taylor, their fourth-round draft pick out of Virginia Tech, per Jim Callis of MLB.com.
4th-rder Carson Taylor signs with @Dodgers for $400k (slot 130 value = $434,300). Virginia Tech C, switch-hitter with raw power & plate discipline, average arm, work in progress behind the plate. @MLBDraft
— Jim Callis (@jimcallisMLB) June 21, 2020
$397,500 of the signing bonus counts against the bonus pool, $36,800 less than the recommended slot value of $434,300 for the 130th overall pick. That puts the Dodgers $493,600 under slot with three picks left to sign — second-rounder Landon Knack, Competitive Balance Round B pick Clayton Beeter, and third-rounder Jake Vogel. The deadline for signing drafted players is August 1.
The Dodgers have not yet announced any of their three draft pick signings.
Taylor’s numbers were eye-popping in the truncated 2020 season. He hit .431/.541/.690 in 16 games, named a third-team All American. It was a stark improvement from hitting .290/.389/.413 as a freshman.
“He broke his [right] hamate bone in his freshman year, and tried to play in the Cape Cod with it. He played hurt,” Dodgers vice president of amateur scouting Billy Gasparino said. “As you piece his performance and track together, it all makes sense. We think the healthy version of Taylor is that showed up this year.”
Taylor was just 5-for-33 (.152) in the Cape Cod League last summer, including an 0-for-14 start.
“I was not striking out, but I was not happy with my performance. I was frustrated,” Taylor told 6-4-3 DP Athletics. “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.’”
Taylor is the fourth Virginia Tech player drafted by the Dodgers, and the highest since first baseman Franklin Stubbs was picked in the first round (19th overall) in 1982.