Last June, the Los Angeles Dodgers traded Zach Lee, a former top prospect, to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Chris Taylor. It garnered minimal attention, with the majority of the attention on the Dodgers finally parting with Lee.
One year later, the Dodgers may shudder to think where they would be without Taylor. He’s morphed from utility player to an integral part in manager Dave Roberts’ everyday lineup. That’s coincide with Taylor expanding his skill set to play center field in Joc Pederson’s absence.
Taylor’s grand slam punctuated a five-run ninth inning rally against the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday. He discussed the at-bat with Alanna Rizzo of Spectrum SportsNet LA, and attempted to put hitting a grand slam into perspective:
“I knew he had a good cutter, so I was just trying to see it over the middle and not chase anything away. He left one right there, I put a good swing on it and got it up in the air. … It feels awesome. I wish I could explain it, but I kind of blacked out. It all happened really fast.”
The grand slam was Taylor’s second this season and third of his career; all have come with the Dodgers. Taylor began the day with seven home runs this year, and leading the Dodgers with a .985 on-base plus slugging percentage.
The success is a drastic change for a player who didn’t hit a single home run in 86 games over parts of three seasons with the Mariners.
Taylor’s improvement in slugging has been attributed to a change in his swing mechanics, which Roberts has explained now allows for him to better handle velocity and pitches throughout the zone.
