An MRI on Thursday brought good news for Grant Taylor. While the hard-throwing right-hander is expected to miss a few games, tests revealed no tears, keeping him on track for a return before the end of the season.
Taylor left Wednesday’s game after throwing just two strikes on seven pitches before the training staff came to the mound to check on him. Moments later, he walked to the locker room with what the team called a right groin strain.
CHSN’s Brooke Fletcher reported on Thursday that Taylor could be down for a few days but is taking things day by day to see how he progresses. 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine added that Taylor said the MRI didn’t show anything like a tear and that he plans to play catch on Friday to see how it goes.
The 23-year-old rookie out of LSU has had a promising rookie campaign, posting a 31% strikeout rate and averaging 98.7 mph on his fastball, ranking among the 97th percentile of MLB pitchers. Despite owning a 5.58 ERA on the season, Taylor’s expected ERA is just 3.01. This is thanks in part to a 55% ground ball rate, with opponents only owning an expected batting average of .223 against him.
Across 31.2 innings this season, he has racked up 44 strikeouts and recorded four saves. While he has served as a reliever in the back end of the bullpen for most of the season, the White Sox view him as a potential starter long-term, which is why the team may err on the side of caution with Taylor’s injury this late in the season.
