SUNDAY, 12:06pm: Taylor will get a bonus of $750K, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America (via Twitter). It's an under-slot deal for the left-hander as the suggested value of the No. 51 pick is just over $1.065MM.
FRIDAY, 5:56pm: The Pirates announced the signings of five more picks from their 2013 draft class, including second round pick (51st overall) Blake Taylor. Terms of the deal weren't announced, though the assigned value of Taylor's draft slot is a little over $1.065MM (hat tip to Baseball America for the list of slot values). Taylor is advised by Paragon Sports International.
A product of Dana Hills High School in Dana Point, California, Taylor is a 6'3", 220-pound left-handed pitcher described by MLB.com as needing to develop a changeup in order to succeed at the Major League level. That said, Taylor's curveball "has the chance to be an above-average breaking pitch" and he has touched the mid 90's with his fastball, throwing it "with ease" in the low 90's on a regular basis.
Taylor was ranked as the 40th-best prospect of this year's draft class by ESPN's Keith Law (Insider subscription needed) and was also ranked 55th by Baseball America and ranked 61st by MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo.
