Chicago White Sox Pitcher Grant Taylor Impresses In MLB Debut
As the White Sox rebuild continues, MLB debuts have become a common occurrence for some of their top prospects.
During Tuesday's 4-2 win over the Astros, it was right-handed pitcher Grant Taylor's turn, following midseason call-ups from Kyle Teel, Tim Elko, Chase Meidroth and Edgar Quero. Different from the other four, though, is that Taylor was promoted from Double-A Birmingham, before ever reaching Triple-A Charlotte.
His performances with the Barons made it hard for the White Sox to keep him down for long. Across 26.2 innings, beginning as a starter before transitioning to the bullpen, Taylor allowed just three earned runs and 12 hits while striking out 37 batters and walking 11 – good for a 1.01 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP.
Taylor's stuff looked just as nasty against major league hitters. He entered as the White Sox led the Astros 4-1 in the seventh and replaced fellow rookie Shane Smith, who allowed just one earned run across six innings to continue his All-Star campaign.
Taylor threw just 12 pitches, 10 of which for strikes, to retire three batters. Six pitches zipped in at 100 mph or faster, led by a 101.5 mph fastball on his very first pitch in the major leagues. He also displayed a 95.1 mph cutter and an 87.5 mph curveball to Victor Caratini, who flew out in Taylor's first at-bat.
Grant Taylor (@whitesox No. 6) shows off electric stuff in his MLB debut:
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 11, 2025
⚫️3 up, 3 down
⚪️12 pitches, 10 for strikes
⚫️First pitch at 101.5 mph, 6 fastballs over 100 pic.twitter.com/1P2RpwexAJ
The 6-foot-3, 23-year-old made quick work of Astros rookie Cam Smith, landing a first-pitch slider for a strike at 88.6 mph and jamming the right-handed batter with a 100 mph fastball to induce a ground out.
Taylor got ahead in the count against Jacob Melton, too, dropping in an 86.7 mph curveball at the bottom of the zone for strike one. Melton fouled off a pair of fastballs over 100 mph, then rolled over on a curveball to end the inning.
The 2023 second-round pick figures to boost a White Sox bullpen that ranks 22nd in MLB with a 4.38 ERA. General manager Chris Getz explained last week that they moved Taylor to the bullpen to manage his innings due to his injury history. And while he's had success in that role, the organization is open to their No. 6 prospect eventually moving back to the starting rotation down the road.
"It's a very talented arm and there's different ways to develop players," Getz said. "We know that although we've got him in shorter stints right now, we're certainly not closing the door on him being a starter in the future. You look at as close of an example as Garrett Crochet and his bullpen days and then transitioning to be a starter and what that has done for Garrett's career and has done for the White Sox."
"Every time he pitches, I'm pretty excited to read the reports or look at video from the night prior. He's above 100 mph, he's commanding the zone, the off-speed stuff is really strong. It's very clear that hitters are uncomfortable in the box. They try to get him early. So it's either weak contact or perhaps they'll get him on a hit once in a while. But once they get to two strikes it gets over fairly quickly."
Related stories on the Chicago White Sox
- GETZ ON ISHBIA: Billionaire Justin Ishbia could take over controlling interest of the Chicago White Sox as early as 2029, or as late as 2034. But general manager Chris Getz’s day-to-day operations remain with Jerry Reinsdorf. CLICK HERE
- TEAMS INTERESTED IN ROBERT: Luis Robert Jr. has fallen well short of his former All-Star numbers in 2025, but general manager Chris Getz said teams are still making calls to trade for the White Sox center fielder. CLICK HERE
- UNIQUE DEBUT: Tyler Alexander didn't get to Rate Field until around 1:30 for Sunday's 1:10 p.m. CT game, but he still managed to pitch three innings with one earned run. CLICK HERE
Jack Ankony is the beat writer for “Chicago White Sox on SI.” He has been with the Sports Illustrated network since 2022. He graduated from Indiana University's Media School with a degree in journalism in 2022. Follow Jack on Twitter @ankony_jack