6 days Ago
Samad Taylor has been one of the most impressive hitters in the Seattle Mariners minor league system this season. And he's getting his first crack at the big leagues this year. Taylor's contract was selected by the Mariners on Wednesday after utility player Dylan Moore was placed on the 10-day injured list with right hip inflammation.
"(It's) a little bit of everything," Taylor said in a pregame interview Wednesday. "It's a dream come true to get back up top. And I'm just here to do what I need to do to stay.
That's it." Taylor is hitting .321 (27-for-84) with 12 runs, five doubles, five home runs, six steals and 14 RBIs in 23 games this season with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers.
"You look at (my) numbers last year, I was riding a roller-coaster a lot," Taylor said. "I made a couple adjustments in the offseason that panned out to work and I'm sticking with it. It's just the consistency in the box is the biggest thing.
...
I was a pretty jumpy hitter. I'm a quick-twitch muscle guy. So (I've been) staying on my back side and let things work.
" Seattle acquired Taylor in a trade with the Kansas City Royals on Jan. 30, 2024. Taylor played three games for the Mariners in 2024.
He hit .400 (2-for-5) with two runs in three games. He hit .
333 (8-for-24) with five runs, two doubles, a home run and seven RBIs in 12 Cactus League games this spring. On top of the mechanical improvements Taylor made, he's also going into this latest promotion with a refined mental approach. Senior director of hitting strategy Edgar Martinez and hitting coach Kevin Seitzer helped give pointers on that aspect of Taylor's game during the spring.
"I just picked their brain on the mental side," Taylor said. "It really wasn't a crazy mechanical adjustment. I'm a big thinker, or I was a big thinker.
I've kind of flushed it now. It was just taking the things that they said on the mental side and changing those, and it's worked." Taylor said that manager Dan Wilson told him to "cause havoc and stay ready.
" And based on his work this season in Tacoma, and the Mariners' aggressive habits on the bases, that's exactly what he'll do. Related Minor League Baseball stories MARINERS CATCHING PROSPECT HARRY FORD ACCOMPLISHES MAJOR CAREER MILESTONE: The Mariners' Top 100 catcher hit his first Triple-A long ball with the Tacoma Rainiers. CLICK HERE MARINERS PROSPECT TYLER LOCKLEAR HAS FOUR-HIT GAME FOR TACOMA RAINIERS: The first baseman continued his dominant year in Triple-A with against the Sugar Land Space Cowboys.
CLICK HERE MARINERS PITCHING PROSPECT TEDDY MCGRAW CLEARED TO RESUME THROWING PROGRAM: One of the Mariners' most talented but injury-prone minor leaguers is set to restart his route to return. CLICK HERE Follow Minor League Baseball On SI on social media You can also follow Teren Kowatsch on social media on Twitter @Teren_Kowatsch ..
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