Los Angeles Dodgers utility man Chris Taylor was ranked the eighth-best center fielder in all of baseball for the 2018 season by MLB Network’s The Shredder. The selection marks Taylor’s first appearance on the annual list.
Earlier this offseason, ESPN’s Buster Olney ranked the 27-year-old as the No. 7 center fielder in baseball.
Prior to the 2017 season, Taylor had no professional experience in the outfield. Given his excellent speed and defensive skills, the Dodgers deployed him in center field during Spring Training, where he quickly learned the position on the fly.
After beginning the year with Triple-A Oklahoma City, Taylor was called up to the Majors at the end of April and cemented himself into the team’s long-term plans going forward.
In 140 games during the regular season, Taylor posted career-highs in nearly every statistical category, including plate appearances (568), on-base plus slugging percentage (.840) and extra-base hits (60).
All-in-all, he batted .288/.354/.496 with 34 doubles, five triples and 21 home runs. Taylor added 17 stolen bases and accumulated 4.8 WAR (Baseball-Reference) — grading out positively on both sides of the ball.
Taylor carried that success into the postseason, where he collectively hit .254/.380/.508 over 71 plate appearances and 15 games. He tallied four doubles, one triple, three home runs, and drew more walks (11) than strikeouts (10).
| Rank | The Shredder |
|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Trout (Angels) |
| 2 | Tommy Pham (Cardinals) |
| 3 | Charlie Blackmon (Rockies) |
| 4 | George Springer (Astros) |
| 5 | Lorenzo Cain (Brewers) |
| 6 | Christian Yelich (Brewers) |
| 7 | Kevin Kiermaier (Rays) |
| 8 | Chris Taylor (Dodgers) |
| 9 | Michael Conforto (Mets) |
| 10 | A.J. Pollock (Diamondbacks) |
