Chris Taylor, Infield, Los Angeles Dodgers

Date of Birth: 8/29/1990
Birthplace: Virginia Beach, Virginia
College: University of Virginia

Chris Taylor, infielder for the Los Angeles, was first drafted by the Seattle Mariners in 2012. He played in their minor league system from 2012 through most of 2014. During that time, he had 323 hits, 62 doubles, 69 stolen bases, 119 RBIs, and 213 strikeouts to 142 walks in 258 games. As a shortstop, he made 547 assists, 107 double plays, 265 putouts, and 46 errors in 192 games.

Taylor joined the Mariners for 47 games in 2014. During that time, he batted .287 with 39 hits. As a shortstop, he had a .962 fielding percentage. In 2015, he batted .170 in 37 games with the Mariners. He also played in 86 games in the minors.

Taylor was traded to the Dodgers on June 19, 2016. He finished the 2016 season with a .213 batting average in 2 games with the Mariners and 34 games with the Dodgers. He spent the rest of the season in the minors.

Taylor had a good first full season in the majors in 2017. He finished the season with 148 hits, 34 doubles, 21 home runs, 17 stolen bases, 72 RBIs, 142 strikeouts to 50 walks, and a .288 batting average in 140 games. Defensively, he played 22 games at second base, 8 games at third base, 14 games at shortstop, 48 games in left field, and 49 games in center field.

Taylor excelled in the National League Championship series in 2017, sharing the MVP award with fellow Dodger Justin Turner. In that series, Taylor batted .316 with 2 home runs, 3 RBIs, 4 walks, and a 1.247 OPS. He hit a home run off of the first pitch of the 2017 World Series. He finished the postseason with 15 hits, including 3 home runs, 4 doubles, and a triple, 7 RBIs, 11 walks, and a .254 batting average in 59 at-bats in 15 games.

Taylor batted .254 in 155 games in 2018. He had 136 hits, 35 doubles, 17 home runs, 63 RBIs, and 178 strikeouts to 55 walks. Defensively, he played mostly at shortstop, but also at second base and in left field and center field. In the postseason, he batted .282 with 11 hits, 1 double, 1 triple, 1 home run, 1 stolen base, and 3 RBIs in 39 at-bats in 15 games. He struck out 13 times and walked 9 times.

Taylor spent time on the DL in 2019 with a fractured forearm. He finished the season with 96 hits, 29 doubles, 52 RBIs, 115 strikeouts to 37 walks, and a .262 batting average in 124 games. Defensively, he played all infield and outfield positons except for first base. In the postseason, he had 1 hit, 4 strikeouts to 3 walks, and a .125 batting average in 8 at-bats in 5 games.

Taylor played in 56 games in 2020. He finished the season with 50 hits, 10 doubles, 8 home runs, 32 RBIs, 55 strikeouts to 26 walks, and a .270 batting average. Defensively, he played 13 games at second base, 20 games at shortstop, 19 games in left field, and 6 games in center field. In the postseason, he batted .207 with 12 hits, 4 doubles, 1 home run, and 3 RBIs in 58 at-bats in 16 games.

Taylor finished the 2021 season with 129 hits, 25 doubles, 20 home runs, 13 stolen bases, 73 RBIs, 167 strikeouts to 63 walks, and a .254 batting average in 148 games. In the postseason, he had 13 hits, 4 doubles, 4 home runs, and 12 RBIs in 37 at-bats in 11 games.

Taylor became a free agent on November 3, 2021. He re-signed with the Dodgers on December 1st.

Career batting statistics for Taylor through 2021 include:

• 743 games played
• 627 hits
• 146 doubles
• 309 RBIs
• 742 strikeouts to 252 walks
• .261 batting average

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Chris Taylor
Baseball Reference - Chris Taylor