Source: White Sox calling up No. 6 prospect Taylor

HOUSTON – Right-hander Grant Taylor, the No. 6 White Sox prospect per MLB Pipeline, is being promoted from Double-A Birmingham and will join the team in Houston on Tuesday, a source confirmed to MLB.com on Monday. Future Sox was first with the news, but no official word has come from the team.

Taylor, 23, was moved to the Birmingham bullpen last month and has been a late-inning force for the Barons with nine straight scoreless appearances, including back-to-back games on June 6-7. He has struck out 18 against one walk in 9 1/3 innings of relief, where he figures to be used by the White Sox.

For the season, Taylor has a 1.01 ERA in 15 games with 37 strikeouts, 11 walks and a .135 average against over 26 2/3 innings.

A right lat issue limited Taylor, who was coming off Tommy John surgery when he was selected in the second round of the ’23 Draft, to 19 1/3 innings during his ’24 Minor League campaign. He still posted a minuscule 1.13 ERA over 16 innings in four starts for Single-A Kannapolis and struck out 32 in five total outings.

Those numbers were the appetizers to Taylor’s Cactus League showing. He hit 101.2 mph during an initial outing against the Royals in Surprise on Feb. 23 and struck out six in two innings to finish off the Dodgers at Camelback Ranch on March 8.

This move to the bullpen and early arrival to the White Sox were discussed back in Spring Training, with Taylor talking to MLB.com about the possibilities.

The White Sox have an innings limit on Taylor and want to keep him healthy -- the same overriding goal as any player in their system. They also realize Taylor’s immense talent could play at the highest level.

Taylor’s current bullpen work does not mean an eventual return to the rotation has been ruled out.

“We had to manage his innings regardless this year based on his history,” White Sox general manager Chris Getz said. “Obviously it's a very talented arm and there's different ways to develop players. We know that although we've got him in shorter stints right now, we're certainly not closing the door on him being a starter in the future.

“You look at as close of an example as Garrett Crochet and his bullpen days and then transitioning to be a starter and what that has done for Garrett's career and has done for the White Sox. As for right now we've got him in these shorter stints and I think the most important thing is he's healthy and he's performing very well."