The Mariners don't miss much when it comes to college arms, and this one didn't require any negotiating drama. Nathan Taylor, the right-hander who spent 3 years turning Cincinnati into a pitching factory, is officially a Mariner. No holdout, no gamesmanship, just a clean signing at slot value that gets a potential rotation piece into the system before the summer's out.
Nathan Taylor's deal w/@Mariners is official now for $778,200 (full slot 101 value), as our @DKramer_ reported. @GoBearcatsBASE RHP, one of best sliders in @MLBDraft, also 92-94 mph & touches 97 w/fastball. School records for career W (22) & K (276), plus season K (115).
Seattle popped Taylor with the 101st overall pick in the 3rd round out of Cincinnati, and per Jim Callis, the sides settled on $778,200, the full slot value for that pick. There's no cloak-and-dagger underslot save-money-for-later maneuvering here, this is Seattle paying the going rate for a guy they clearly wanted in the door immediately.
And the resume backs up the price tag. Taylor leaves campus as Cincinnati's all-time leader in career wins with 22, and he sits inside the program's top 3 in strikeouts with 276 for his career, a number he padded with a 115-strikeout junior season. Scouts have pointed to his slider as one of the better breaking balls in this entire draft class, and he's not just a soft-tosser riding a good slider, he's been sitting 92-94 mph and touching 97 with the fastball.
That combination is exactly why player-development types get excited: a big frame, a plus slider, and fastball velocity that's already knocking on triple digits. For a Mariners org that's built its reputation the last decade on identifying and refining exactly this kind of arm, Taylor profiles like a natural fit for the pipeline, whether that means a starter's role long-term or a quick-moving bullpen piece if the development staff wants to fast-track him.
There's no ceremony to a slot-value college signing, but the substance matters. Seattle gets a guy who was, by the numbers, the best pitcher to ever wear a Bearcats uniform, locked in before he throws a single professional inning. Now it's on player development to turn that college dominance into the next step, and Mariners fans who've watched this front office churn out useful arms before will be watching Taylor's full-season debut closely.