Taylor picked up the save in Sunday's 6-4 win against Cleveland, pitching a clean inning with one strikeout.
The flamethrowing right-hander secured his first save since July 4 with this succinct, eight-pitch effort. Since that date, Taylor had been respectable in 9.2 frames across nine appearances with a 3.72 ERA, 1.66 WHIP and 15:6 K:BB. Since July 4, the White Sox have notched only four saves as a team -- Jordan Leasure with two and Dan Altavilla and Steven Wilson with one apiece. The Chicago closer race is still wide open, and Taylor, who now owns a 3.91 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 30:9 K:BB over 23 total innings, remains one of the better high-leverage options for manager Will Venable.
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White Sox's Grant Taylor: Pitching as opener Sunday
Rotowire
Taylor will serve as the White Sox's opening pitcher for Sunday's game against the Cubs, James Fegan of SoxMachine.com reports.
Sean Burke had previously been scheduled to start Sunday's series finale, but the White Sox announced late Saturday that Taylor will open the contest. Taylor will be making his second start of the season, but he's not likely to pitch more than an inning or two, as he hasn't thrown more than three innings at any level in 2025. It's not yet clear if Burke was pulled from the start due to an injury or if he's simply going to pitch in bulk relief behind Taylor.
Taylor gave up a hit and struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning Friday to record his third save of the season in a 3-2 win over the Rockies.
The rookie right-hander is separating himself from the pack in the White Sox bullpen. Taylor has three of the team's last four saves, and the only exception came one day after he'd thrown 31 pitches over two innings against the Giants. His stuff warrants getting a chance to establish himself as a dominant late-inning arm, as he topped out at 101.3 mph with his fastball Friday while getting whiffs with both his slider and curveball. Through his first 12.1 big-league innings, Taylor has a 4.38 ERA, but he has yet to allow a homer and sports a much more impressive 0.97 WHIP and 14:3 K:BB.
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White Sox's Grant Taylor: Allows comeback Wednesday
Rotowire
Taylor (0-1) took the loss Wednesday against the Dodgers, allowing three runs on one hit and two walks over 1.1 innings. He struck out two
Taylor entered in the eighth frame with a two-run lead and retired the side, but he returned for the ninth inning and fell apart. He allowed a single and back-to-back walks to load the bases with no outs, and then was pulled after Shohei Ohtani hit an RBI fielder's choice. Steven Wilson replaced Taylor but couldn't prevent two of the runners Taylor put on from scoring, resulting in the Dodgers' comeback win. Taylor has allowed six runs in 11.1 innings and has blown one of his three save chances, but the White Sox seem content to trot the highly touted 23-year-old out there in high-leverage situations during a lost season, at least for now.
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White Sox's Grant Taylor: Notches second save
Rotowire
Taylor earned a save against the Giants on Saturday, striking out two batters over two perfect innings.
After Adrian Houser fired seven scoreless frames, Taylor was asked to protect a tenuous 1-0 lead. The rookie right-hander excelled in the assignment, retiring all six batters he faced on 31 pitches (21 strikes). Taylor was especially impressive in the ninth frame, when he struck out both Rafael Devers and Dominic Smith. The 23-year-old righty has two saves and a hold over his past three appearances and has each of Chicago's past two saves, so he appears to be the team's current top choice to close games.
White Sox's Grant Taylor: Earns first big-league save
Rotowire
Taylor earned the save in Sunday's 4-2 win over Toronto, allowing one hit while striking out one in a scoreless ninth inning.
Taylor allowed a single to George Springer to lead off the ninth, though he quickly erased him with a double-play ball before striking out Addison Barger to lock down his first major-league save. Sunday's outing marked just the sixth appearance for Taylor, though he's quickly worked his way up the White Sox bullpen hierarchy. He's allowed two runs on five hits and one walk while striking out seven through his first six innings in the majors after posting a 1.01 ERA with 37 strikeouts over 26.2 innings with Double-A Birmingham this season.
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White Sox's Grant Taylor: Opening Friday's contest
Rotowire
Taylor will serve as the White Sox's opening pitcher for Friday's game against the Blue Jays, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.
The 23-year-old was called up by the White Sox on June 10 and has allowed two earned runs with a 5:1 K:BB over four frames in his first four big-league appearances, all in relief. Taylor was in the rotation for his first six outings of the season for Double-A Birmingham before being shifted to relief for his subsequent nine appearances, so the right-hander is likely to have a limited workload Friday.
The White Sox selected Taylor's contract from Double-A Birmingham on Tuesday.
The move was first reported Monday and has now been made official. Taylor had spun 9.1 scoreless innings with an 18:1 K:BB over his last nine appearances after being shifted to the bullpen at Birmingham. The 23-year-old has the look of a future closer, and the ninth inning for the White Sox is wide open. However, Taylor is likely to be eased into high-leverage spots.
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White Sox's Grant Taylor: Poised for big-league promotion
Rotowire
The White Sox are expected to call up Taylor from Double-A Birmingham prior to Tuesday's game in Houston, James Fegan of SoxMachine.com reports.
Taylor has been dominant since being moved to the bullpen at Birmingham, tossing 9.1 scoreless innings with an 18:1 K:BB over his last nine appearances. It's not clear whether the White Sox have given up on trying to develop him as a starting pitcher, but Taylor will be broken into the big leagues as a reliever. The 23-year-old has an electric arm and could push for high-leverage appearances sooner rather than later.
White Sox's Grant Taylor: Will make some relief appearances
Rotowire
Taylor will make some appearances out of the bullpen for Double-A Birmingham as means to manage his workload, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.
The White Sox still plan to develop Taylor as a starting pitcher, but they will be careful with his workload after he missed all of 2023 following Tommy John surgery and most of 2024 with a lat injury. Taylor has made six starts with Birmingham this season, posting a 1.56 ERA and 19:10 K:BB over 17.1 frames.
Taylor will begin the season with Double-A Birmingham, Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline reports.
Taylor will join Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith in one of the most loaded rotations in the minors after impressing this spring. Taylor has a chance for three plus pitches and plus command, so if he stays healthy, he could be one of the year's top breakout pitching prospects. He had Tommy John surgery at LSU and had a 2.33 ERA, 0.72 WHIP and 32 strikeouts in 19.1 innings last season, although he missed more time with a lat injury.
Taylor (lat) is slated to pitch in the Arizona Fall League for the Glendale Desert Dogs.
Taylor missed LSU's 2023 national championship season following Tommy John surgery and missed most of this season with a lat strain, so this is a chance for him to make up for lost time. It's a weak crop of pitching prospects in the AFL, and Taylor has the stuff to stand out, headlined by a mid-90s fastball, low-90s cutter and a pair of breaking balls. He posted a 1.13 ERA, 0.63 WHIP and 25:1 K:BB in 16 innings over four starts for Single-A Kannapolis earlier this year.
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White Sox's Grant Taylor: Out with lat injury
Rotowire
Single-A Kannapolis placed Taylor on its 7-day injured list June 12 and transferred him to its 60-day injured list June 16 while he recovers from a lat injury, Bill Mitchell of Baseball America reports.
The White Sox selected Taylor in the second round of the 2023 First-Year Player Draft while he was already on the mend from Tommy John surgery. He has a high ceiling, and that was on display during his brief stretch of full health, as the 22-year-old righty had a 1.13 ERA, 0.63 WHIP and a 25:1 K:BB in 16 innings across four starts for Kannapolis before succumbing to another injury.
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White Sox's Grant Taylor: Makes pro debut
Rotowire
Taylor (elbow) struck out seven and allowed three earned runs on three hits and one walk over 3.1 innings in his season debut Friday for the White Sox's rookie-level Arizona Complex League affiliate.
A 2023 second-round draft pick out of LSU, Taylor didn't make his professional debut last summer while he completed his recovery from Tommy John surgery, which cost him his entire final season of college. Set to turn 22 years old later this month, Taylor likely won't stick around in rookie ball for long and will likely report to Single-A Kannapolis or High-A Winston-Salem once he gets stretched out a bit more.
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