The White Sox bullpen got an immediate boost Tuesday night with the call-up of Grant Taylor, the organization’s top right-handed pitching prospect.
Taylor was promoted to the majors ahead of the team’s road trip opener against the Astros. White Sox manager Will Venable called on the 23-year-old in the seventh inning, with the White Sox holding a 4-1 lead.
Taylor wasted no time making an impression, only needing 12 pitches to make it through a clean 1-2-3 innings, with seven of those pitches clocking in at over 100 mph.
Taylor opened the inning by getting Victor Caratini to fly out to center, then forcing Cam Smith into a groundout to second. The hard-throwing right-hander was on the verge of his first career strikeout after jumping ahead 0-2 on Jacob Melton, but instead settled for another routine grounder to Chase Meidroth.
3 ⬆️, 3 ⬇️ in his major-league debut pic.twitter.com/uGOudEzS0u
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) June 11, 2025
It was reminiscent of Garrett Crochet’s 2020 major league debut against the Reds, when the southpaw recorded six pitches over 100 mph, the second most by a White Sox pitcher in an outing since the pitch tracking era began in 2008.
Taylor may be following a similar path to Garrett Crochet, who started his career in the bullpen before emerging as an All-Star starter in 2024. White Sox general manager Chris Getz told reporters the organization still sees Taylor as a long-term starter. However, they’re managing his workload this season, as he’s just three years removed from blowing out his elbow at LSU ahead of the 2022 college season.
“It’ll evolve. We had to manage his innings regardless this year, based on his history. Obviously, it’s a very talented arm and there’s different ways to develop players,” Getz told reporters on June 4th. “We know that although we’ve got him on shorter stints right now, we’re certainly not closing the door on him being a starter in the future.”
The White Sox took a similar approach with Chris Sale, rushing him up to the big leagues to throw out of the bullpen before transitioning into a full-time starter. Taylor has all the makings of an effective reliever.
Taylor has all the tools to be an effective reliever—elite velocity, two power breaking balls, and a unique delivery. His 58-degree arm angle is one of the steepest in the majors, giving hitters a challenging look.
The White Sox entered Tuesday with one of the league's worst-performing bullpens, ranking near the bottom in saves and among the highest in blown leads. With the team far from contention, a trade deadline move for relief help wouldn’t make much sense. Instead, the promotion of Grant Taylor offers a short-term boost—and a glimpse at the future.
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