LSU pitcher Grant Taylor officially signs with Chicago White Sox

After being selected in the second round of the 2023 MLB Draft by the Chicago White Sox, former LSU Tigers pitcher Grant Taylor has made things officially official with the organization.

MLB.com’s Jim Callis reported Sunday that Taylor signed with the White Sox for $1,659,800, the full value of his pick after being selected No. 51 overall in this year’s draft.

Taylor did not throw a single pitch for LSU last season after suffering from a UCL injury one week before the team’s opener which required Tommy John surgery.

But in his lone, freshman season with the Tigers he stood out, pitching in 17 games with two starts. He had a 4-1 record on the mound and a 5.81 ERA, recording 39 strikeouts and 21 walks in his 31 innings pitched.

The Florence, Alabama native presents big-league size and talent, standing at 6-foot-3, 230 pounds with a fastball and sharp cutter that both reside in the 90 miles per hour neighborhood, and it will definitely be interesting to see if he delivers for Chicago coming off of surgery now that they’ve put their money where their mouths are.

More on the 2023 MLB Draft

The 2023 Major League Baseball Draft will begin during All-Star week, with the first two rounds getting underway at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 9. Rounds 3-10 will then begin at 2 p.m. ET on Monday, July 10, with rounds 11-20 starting at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 11.

This year’s MLB Draft is a historic one, as a draft lottery was used to determine the order for the first time. The Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Oakland Athletics each had a 16.5% chance to receive the No. 1 overall pick. Ultimately, Pittsburgh won the right to have the first selection, with Washington finishing right behind them at No. 2. Oakland, however, fell all the way down to No. 6 overall.

While the MLB Draft is always unpredictable, the consensus is that this year’s top prospects both hail from LSU, who won the 2023 College World Series. Pitcher Paul Skenes and outfielder Dylan Crews headline this year’s class, which is considered a deep one.

Within the first ten rounds of the draft, each slot is assigned a certain value. Each team has a bonus pool that they are able to spend on these picks, and players will sign at, above or below their assigned slot value.

In rounds 11-20, there is no assigned slot value and MLB teams are free to spend up to $150,000 to sign their picks from the second half of the draft. If they exceed the $150,000 mark, that added amount will be deducted from their bonus pool.

Following the final day of the 2023 MLB Draft, selected players will have until August 1 to sign a contract.