Cincinnati Reds have their next center fielder in Taylor Trammell

Drafted as an athlete out of high school, the Cincinnati Reds quickly created bigger plans for Taylor Trammell.

The Cincinnati Reds set aside more signing bonus money than is usually for a competitive balance pick in order to sign Taylor Trammell.  Trammell was on his way to play baseball and football at Georgia Tech prior to the Reds drafting him.  Now he is one of the Reds’ top prospects.

Coming out of high school Trammell’s position wasn’t clear.  He played center field his first year as a pro and split time between left and center in his second.  Given his youth, he is expected to move back to center as he progresses through the system.

It’s easy to forget that Trammell began his professional baseball career at the incredibly young age of 18.  Playing center field in rookie ball while learning how to prepare as a professional batter may not be the best way to develop a major leaguer.  Allowing him to play primarily in left, allows him to focus more on his at-bats.

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In season two, Taylor’s home runs, walk rate and sacrifice flies all went up.  He appears to be a top of the order batter, but he still has plenty of development to go.  As a left-handed hitter, he will have plenty of good offensive players to be compared to.

Taylor Trammell compares favorably offensively to other draft picks of the Cincinnati Reds that batted left-handed and had plus speed.

More from Reds Prospects

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Reading the scouting reports one name comes to mind, Eddie Milner.  Milner was drafted by the Reds in the 21st round, but he was a lefty with speed.  He left college to play for the Reds.

Milner’s first two seasons in the minors, he batted .255 and .268 with 17 and 35 steals.  He also walked a total of 52 times while playing a plus center field.  He started most but not all games.

Trammell, however, batted .303 and .281 with 24 and 41 steals.  He also walked a total of 94 times while switching back and forth between center field and left field.

He was a true everyday starter both seasons.

You can compare Trammell to Jesse Winker, too.  Winker batted .338 and .281 while walking a total of 103 times in his first two minor league seasons.  Trammell scored four more runs in his first two seasons, total, than Winker.

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Trammell is a great athlete with some elite offensive skills. He may not be as refined as some of the other prospects, yet.  Trammell’s age 19 season just ended and his refinement is beyond expectations.