First baseman Carson Taylor (24 years old) was selected by the Phillies in the minor league portion of the rule five draft on 12/6/23 from the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. He was the Dodgers 4th round draft selection in the 2020 draft from Virginia Tech University.
Carson played two years of high school baseball at the highly regarded Hyde Park School in Austin, Texas under Coach Scott Ruffcorn (a former Phillies major leaguer who pitched for the Phillies in 1997) and two years at Greater Atlanta Christian School lettering all four years. He finished with the most RBI and doubles in a season at Greater Atlanta Christian School and was the only player in school history to not strike out in a single year. His hitting and bat to ball skills were evident early. 👀
He split time between catcher and first base in his two seasons at Virginia Tech and put up great offensive numbers, .332/.436/.495 slash line in 53 games - 237 plate appearances with 16 doubles, 4 home runs and 39 RBIs - struck out just 26 times. 😳
The 2022 MLB scouting report (that year he was ranked in the top 30 prospects for the Dodgers) on him said “Taylor controls the strike zone, puts together some of the best at-bats in the system and makes a lot of line-drive contact. He has solid raw power that currently translates mostly into doubles, but he could produce 15-20 homers on an annual basis if he learns to pull more pitches in the air.“
He played at the High A and AA levels while with the Dodgers and also appeared in the Arizona Fall League. I first saw him hit in person during a batting practice session this spring in minor league camp at the complex, was impressed with how hard he consistently hit the baseball. There was that “loud” sound off the bat that ya always turn to see who delivered it. Also during the spring it became evident that the plan was to convert Carson to a full time first baseman, he even appeared in four Grapefruit League games at first base as a game call-up.
When minor league camp broke he was assigned to the Reading roster where he’s gotten off to a great start. Thru his first 11 games played (46 plate appearances) he’s posted a .375/.457/. 775 slash line with an OPS of. 1.232 with 31 total bases (8 singles, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 4 home runs, 5 walks) and leads the Eastern League in RBIs with 16.
Recently I asked Carson a few questions about the start to this season. Here’s our correspondence.
From a fan’s view welcome to the Phillies.
“Thank you for the welcome, I appreciate it!”
Was it unexpected to be selected in the Rule 5 Draft - what was your initial reaction when you learned the Phillies had selected you?
“Yes it definitely was a surprise to be selected in the rule 5 but I was super excited to be a member of the Phillies. It’s a really exciting opportunity and one that also gives me the added bonus of being closer to home as well.”
You were primarily a catcher in college and with the Dodgers but have transitioned to first base with the Phillies. How have you adapted to now being primarily a first baseman ?
“I’ve had a great time learning how to play first base. Definitely still lots of room for growth for me in getting better there but feel like I’m making strides each day. I think being a first baseman has really helped me in terms of how I feel each day and being able to go out and play each and everyday.”
I was impressed with your hitting this spring - you’ve gotten off to a great start with Reading as well - what or who has helped you the most in doing so? What do you consider your best qualities as a hitter to be?
“I want to give a huge shoutout to Casey Smith with Out Front hitting, he and I worked super hard in building the swing I have now. I made some pretty big changes going into this year and it’s really exciting to be hitting the way that I am. I think my best qualities as a hitter are that I take good at bats, I’m consistent day in and day out, and forcing pitchers to make their best pitch each time.”
Last year Oliver Dunn played at Reading as a Rule 5 draftee and had a breakout season - he’s now in the show with the Brewers. He had a similar path as you are presently on. How do you look at your new opportunity with the Phillies - what goals have you set if any?
“I’ve definitely heard of Oliver Dunn and the awesome things he did here, it’s a really awesome story and definitely something that is super cool. Goals for this year for me are to make my big league debut at some point, stay healthy, be the same guy each day - show up, put in the work and compete regardless of the circumstances and be the best teammate I can be day in and day out.”
What are your impressions of the Reading ball park and the new clubhouse? Of the organization in general ?
“The Reading ballpark is great, the clubhouse is so cool. I think they did an awesome job on the renovations and the organization has been great! I think they do a lot of great things for us and for fan interaction. It’s been so much fun playing for both Reading and for the Phillies organization so far. I think that this is an awesome opportunity for me to continue to grow and get some really good development from a great organization and hopefully at some point help them win games at the big league level.”
Our thanks to Carson for chatting with us and our continued best wishes for continued hot hitting and success for him! Maybe when I get up to Reading later this summer we can chat in person - but then again if he keeps swinging the bat like he is now he may have just moved up the ladder by then - good stuff! 🔥.
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️
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