Blake Michael Taylor (born August 17, 1995) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

who is a free agent. He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

. Taylor was drafted by the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

in the 2nd round of the

2013 MLB draft The 2013 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in reverse order of t ...

. He is a member of the Great Britain national team.

Career

Taylor attended

Dana Hills High School Dana Hills High School is a high school in Dana Point, California opened in 1973. The school's enrollment of roughly 2,000 students is drawn from the nearby communities of Laguna Niguel, Dana Point, Capistrano Beach, and San Juan Capistrano. ...

Dana Point, California Dana Point () is a city located in southern Orange County, California, United States. The population was 33,107 at the 2020 census. It has one of the few harbors along the Orange County coast; with ready access via State Route 1, it is a popu ...

Pittsburgh Pirates

Taylor was drafted by the

in the 2nd round, with the 51st overall selection, of the

2013 Major League Baseball draft The 2013 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in reverse order of ...

. Taylor spent his professional debut season of 2013 with the rookie–level

GCL Pirates The Florida Complex League Pirates are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Pirates. The team plays its hom ...

, going 0–2 with a 2.57 ERA over 21 innings.

New York Mets

On June 14, 2014, Taylor was traded to the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

as the

PTBNL In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

in a trade that had also sent Zack Thornton to the Mets, in exchange for

Ike Davis Isaac Benjamin Davis (born March 22, 1987) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. From 2010 through 2016, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates, Oakland Athletics, and New York Ya ...

. Taylor split the 2014 season between the

GCL Mets The Florida Complex League Mets are a Rookie-level affiliate for the New York Mets, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Mets. The team plays its home games at ...

and the

Kingsport Mets The Kingsport Mets were a Minor League Baseball team of the Appalachian League from 1921 to 2020. They were located in Kingsport, Tennessee, and were last named for the team's major league affiliate, the New York Mets. The team played its home g ...

, going a combined 4–1 with a 3.95 ERA over innings. In 2015, Taylor split the season between the GCL and the

Brooklyn Cyclones The Brooklyn Cyclones are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, and play at Maimonides Park, just off the Coney Island ...

, combining to go 0–0 with a 2.25 ERA over 12 innings. In 2016, Taylor made five appearances for Kingsport, going 0–0 with a 4.15 ERA in innings. In 2017, Taylor spent the season with the

Columbia Fireflies The Columbia Fireflies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Columbia, South Carolina, and are the Single-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball. Their home stadium is Segra Park. The team was previously known as the ...

, going 1–9 with a 4.94 ERA over innings. In 2018, Taylor split the season between the

St. Lucie Mets The St. Lucie Mets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are located in Port St. Lucie, Florida, and play their home games at Clover Park. The Mets have been members ...

and the Las Vegas 51s, going a combined 3–8 with a 5.40 ERA over innings. In 2019, Taylor split the season between St. Lucie, the

Binghamton Rumble Ponies The Binghamton Rumble Ponies are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Binghamton, New York. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets major-league club. The Rumble Ponies play in Mi ...

, and the

Syracuse Mets The Syracuse Mets are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are located in Syracuse, New York, and play their home games at NBT Bank Stadium, which ope ...

, combining to go 2–3 with a 2.16 ERA over innings. Following the 2019 season, Taylor played for the

Scottsdale Scorpions The Scottsdale Scorpions are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Scottsdale, Arizona, at Scottsdale Stadium, which is also the spring training facility of the San Francisco G ...

of the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

. On November 4, 2019, Taylor was added to the Mets'

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

Houston Astros

On December 5, 2019, Taylor and Kenedy Corona were traded to the

in exchange for Jake Marisnick. On July 24, 2020, Taylor pitched a scoreless inning in his MLB debut against the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

. On August 17, he earned his first career save. In 2020, he was 2–1 with one save and a 2.18 ERA in which he pitched innings over 22 relief appearances. In

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, he was 4–4 with a 3.16 ERA. In 50 relief appearances, he pitched innings. On June 4,

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, the Astros placed Taylor on the 15-day injured list due to left elbow discomfort and transferred him to the 60-day injured list on July 1, 2022. The Astros activated Taylor on September 13, and assigned him to the Triple-A

Sugar Land Space Cowboys The Sugar Land Space Cowboys are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros Major League Baseball club. They are located in Sugar Land, Texas, part of the Greater Houston metro ...

of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

. On the season, he pitched in 19 games for Houston and logged a 3.94 ERA with 9 strikeouts in 16.0 innings of work. On January 13,

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, Taylor avoided arbitration with the Astros, agreeing to a one-year, $830K contract for the season. After beginning the year in Triple–A, Taylor was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

by Houston following the waiver claim of Jake Cousins on July 31. On August 4, he was released by the Astros organization.

Texas Rangers

On January 25, 2024, Taylor signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers. In 34 appearances for the Triple–A

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home ...

, he compiled a 4–2 record and 5.80 ERA with 40 strikeouts over innings of work. Taylor was released by the Rangers organization on August 27.

International

In September 2016, Taylor was selected for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

at the

2017 World Baseball Classic Qualification The qualifying Round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic, officially called the 2016 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers was held from February 11 to September 25, 2016. Teams which participated at the 2013 World Baseball Classic were automatically ...

, qualifying via his British father.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Blake 1995 births Living people Baseball players from Orange, California Binghamton Rumble Ponies players Brooklyn Cyclones players 21st-century American sportsmen Columbia Fireflies players Florida Complex League Astros players Gulf Coast Mets players Gulf Coast Pirates players Houston Astros players Kingsport Mets players Las Vegas 51s players Major League Baseball pitchers National baseball team players Round Rock Express players Scottsdale Scorpions players St. Lucie Mets players Sugar Land Skeeters players Sugar Land Space Cowboys players Syracuse Mets players