Taylor has a chance to open pro career at home
By: CJ Pentland
Canadian Baseball Network
Curtis Taylor might not need to travel far to start his professional baseball career.
On June 23, the Hillsboro Hops – short season A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks – head north up the I5 to visit Nat Bailey Stadium for a five-game series against the Vancouver Canadians. Waiting for them, if his visa situation can get sorted out, just might be Taylor, the former University of British Columbia Thunderbird and one of the newest members of the D-Backs organization.
Fresh off of being selected in the fourth round, 119th overall, by Arizona, Taylor popped down to Hillsboro for the organization’s mini-camp. The first day consisted of physicals, and on the second he officially became a Diamondback, signing a $496,000 US contract.
Now, the Coquitlam, BC native must play the waiting game while his visa situation gets worked out. Until it’s finalized he won’t know for sure which team he’ll start with, but Taylor holds hope that it’ll be done in time to join Hillsboro while they’re up in Vancouver. Not only would it mean pitching at Nat Bailey for the first time in his life – in front of friends, family, and thousands of fans to boot – but he’d also be joining one of the bright, young franchises in minor league baseball.
The Hops – located just outside of Hillsboro – joined the Northwest League in 2014 after relocating from Yakima. They’ve promptly won the past two league championships, and played in front of passionate fans in a sleek new ballpark.
“[The stadium] is very nice – it’s pretty first-class,” said Taylor after his visit down there. “For a short-season A it’s really new, and it seems like they’ve got a really good environment and a lot of support from the fans. [I’m] really hoping I get sent back there.”
Taylor had expected to hear his name called on the second day of the draft, and had a good feeling that it’d be the Diamondbacks who’d say it. The righty had gone down for a pre-draft workout in Arizona, and continued to impress scouts with a fastball that sits in the mid-nineties and has touched 96. He also had a D-Backs scout ask to speak with him in Lawrenceville, Ga after UBC ended up at the same hotel as him during the NAIA playoffs in May.
Yet the expectation of the pick didn’t downplay the thrill once it happened. “I don’t even know what I was thinking – it was pure ecstasy. It was crazy. The happiest day of my life for sure.”
UBC Athletics had their media department on hand in anticipation, and captured the raw emotion of the moment. His parents both leaped up with hands in the air, while Taylor turned straight to his left to hug his dad. The Diamondbacks’ Twitter account tweeted the photos from the moment, and one follower responded with “that’s what it’s all about right there.”
“It was awesome,” said Taylor about having his family with him. “I wouldn’t have had it any other way. They’ve been there with me throughout every up and down, and they’ve got to be there for the biggest high so far.”
After his velocity jumped up into the 90s, the 6-foot-6, 225-pound hurler had known since last year that he’d most likely get picked up in this year’s draft. Yet the transition to a new role as a starter and a battle with pneumonia caused his stuff to slide a bit, and it took extra work to keep him high on the draft radar.
“It was difficult,” said Taylor about becoming a starter, a move that undoubtedly increased his draft stock. “Working deep into games was kind of a challenge to start – my velocity kinda fell off a bit, but near the end of the year I started getting used to it more and was able to maintain my stuff further into games.”
After some strong starts down the stretch to help UBC on a playoff run that fell just short of the NAIA World Series, Taylor finished the year with a 1.96 ERA and a 113-to-22 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 91.2 innings pitched – good for a rate of 11.6 strikeouts per nine innings. He also finished with three complete games, evidence of his improved ability to pitch deep into contests.
Taylor becomes the second-highest draft pick out of UBC, behind Jeff Francis and just ahead of Brooks McNiven who went 123rd overall to San Francisco in 2003. He was also the first of three T-Birds selected in 2016, along with Alex Webb and Bruce Yari who both went to the Cincinnati Reds.
“It’s been a really exciting few days for UBC. It’s huge for our program moving forward with all the renovations, and that they can have three guys picked up in one year and just boost the overall impression of the program and give it some more feasibility to come here, and it’s a viable option to get drafted pretty high if you can do all those things that it requires.”
Whether or not Taylor starts his pro career 30 minutes from where he played both youth baseball and college ball, or elsewhere across the expanse of minor league baseball, he still will keep the close bond to his home city and UBC.
“[I’ll remember] all the relationships and friendships I’ve made with all my teammates there. They’re going to be there forever, and they supported me throughout the draft process and when I got picked up it was just a huge support and excitement from the whole team and everybody that I’ve ever played with. It was a big family over there, and I wouldn’t have changed it for the world.”