The Pittsburgh Pirates have sent pitcher Blake Taylor to the New York Mets as the player to be named later in the Ike Davis trade. Taylor was a second round pick of the Pirates last year. He signed with the team on June 14th, and players can’t be traded within the first year of signing as a draft pick, so the deal had to wait until now to be completed. On April 18th, the Pirates sent reliever Zack Thornton and a PTBNL to the Mets in exchange for first baseman Ike Davis.
The left-handed Taylor was the 16th best prospect in the Pirates system coming into the season. He has been in Extended Spring Training this season. The 18-year-old is 6’3″ and has 94 MPH in the past, but works in the 89-92 range now and he has a curve ball that has the chance to be a plus offering. Taylor pitched 21 innings in the Gulf Coast League last year and allowed just seven hits, while walking nine and picking up 13 strikeouts. You can read more about him on his Pirates Prospects player page.
