Baseball America No. 3 Nats prospect: Michael A. Taylor

Outfielder Michael A. Taylor advanced well in 2014, moving from Double-A Harrisburg to Triple-A Syracuse all the way to the Nationals. Taylor's jump was big, considering he spent 2012 and 2013 with high Single-A Potomac. He hit .304 in the minors last season, collecting 20 doubles, three triples, 23 homers and 64 RBIs in 110 games. The power display was 10 more homers than he had hit in 2012 and 2013 combined. Taylor then played 17 games with the Nationals and had eight hits with one tremendous home run at Citi Field. Baseball America has Taylor ranked as the No. 3 prospect in the Nats system. No. 3: outfielder Michael A. Taylor Baseball America editor-in-chief John Manuel got to know Taylor's signing scout Tony Arango, who always spoke highly of the prospect. "He would say, 'Why aren't you guys high on Michael Taylor? You've got to love this guy.' (Taylor) clicked this year, obviously," Manuel said. "If you look at the numbers, his batting average on balls in play was pretty high. But that spike in batting average may be hard for him to maintain. There's evidence in the numbers that he got a little lucky batting average-wise." Manuel said Taylor will concentrate on working to lessen his strikeout rate, with 144 punchouts last year. But Taylor has all the tools to get even more out of each at-bat. "He's going to have to keep on refining his hitting ability because there's always been aggressiveness, there's always been strikeouts," Manuel said. "But he has the power and speed combination and the body. I was watching him during batting practice at a game last year and he looks the part. He runs like a big leaguer. The ball comes off his bat like a big leaguer." Manuel believes Taylor has a shot at being the Nationals' fourth outfielder. The news of Jayson Werth's recovery from surgery and the Steven Souza trade to Tampa Bay provides Taylor an even bigger opportunity to have a major impact with the parent club. Manuel said Taylor will work to continue to increase his walk rate and get into hitter's counts. Manuel said it is hard to find a "power and speed guy" like Taylor. "That's what we are looking for, we need more guys like Michael Taylor in baseball," Manuel concluded. "Definitely not a finished product, but there's a lot to like there. He has a chance to be an All-Star. He has those kind of tools."