Who is Brayden Taylor? Taking a look at Rays' rising star

Brayden Taylor is the fourth-ranked prospect in the Tampa Bay Rays' system. After being selected in the 2023 MLB draft, he has shot up prospect boards and become someone the Rays are very excited about. The third baseman/shortstop prospect is also ranked in the MLB Pipeline Top 100 Prospects at number 84 overall, so his future is bright.

This season, Brayden Taylor is in High-A for the Rays, slashing .253/.421/.440 with three home runs and nine steals in 27 games so far. Over his MiLB career, he is hitting .265 with a .920 OPS.

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More about future Rays' star Brayden Taylor

Brayden Taylor was a first-round pick by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2023, picked 19th overall out of Texas Christian University. He hasn't progressed through the minors rapidly since he's still in High-A, but Taylor is expected to arrive at the MLB level in 2026.

Taylor was understandably excited about being drafted, and told reporters in Seattle:

“I felt my legs go right out from under me. I still can’t feel my legs. Being able to hug my family, it was fantastic. I’m very grateful.”

According to Rotowire, Taylor is a versatile hitter with a 26.4% strikeout rate and a 23.1% walk rate. His batted ball numbers are good, too: 23.7% groundball rate, 7.1% infield-flyball rate, 21.3% Oppo%, and 36.1% hard-hit rate.

Taylor was considered one of the best pure hitters in the 2023 MLB draft, which featured players like Dylan Crews (Washington Nationals), Wyatt Langford (Texas Rangers), and Nolan Schanuel (Los Angeles Angels).

Brayden Taylor at Texas Christian University

In 2024, Taylor has played 16 of his 27 games at third base, spending the rest of his time at shortstop. He projects to have a strong enough arm to move around the left side of the infield, and the athleticism to play shortstop if needed.

Taylor told Tampa Bay media on a Zoom call in 2023 (via MLB.com):

“Just continuing to work on my craft each and every day. It's about being well-rounded in each and every aspect of my game.”

Taylor was projected to be selected as high as sixth overall in the draft, so he fell a way to the Rays at 19th. It may be some time before Taylor makes it to the MLB level, however, college players usually have a shorter path to the big leagues than high school draft picks, so it could be a smooth transition.