Taylor Widener Stats & Scouting Report — College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects

IP	13
ERA	5.54
WHIP	1.31
BB/9	2.08
SO/9	13.15

Full name Taylor Browning Widener
Born 10/24/1994 in Aiken, SC
Profile Ht.: 6'0" / Wt.: 203 / Bats: L / Throws: R
School South Carolina
Debut 07/25/2020
Drafted in the 12th round (368th overall) by the New York Yankees in 2016 (signed for $100,000).

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The No. 2 prospect in the Coastal Plain League in 2015, Widener has always teased with his electric stuff but has struggled to find consistency throughout his college career. The 6-foot, 200-pound righthander has served a variety of roles for the Gamecocks, closing some and beginning this spring in the weekend rotation. He sits 90-93 mph with a repeatable delivery, but he's touched as high as 97 mph and uses a hard mid-80s slider as his main offspeed weapon. Widener had ulnar nerve transposition surgery in the fall and has had issues with his knee and back in the past. He's probably a reliever at the next level.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

TRACK RECORD: Widener won Diamondbacks minor league pitcher of the year in his first season with the club after they acquired him from the Yankees in a three-team deal in Feb. 2018. The wheels came off in year two, however, as Widener was unable to survive the harsh conditions of Triple-A Reno, particularly with livelier baseballs. He finished the year with an 8.10 ERA and missed a month with elbow soreness.

SCOUTING REPORT: Widener has always thrived by relying on his fastball, a pitch that has good ride through the zone and plays above its 92-95 mph velocity. His changeup and slider never have been dominant or consistent, but he struggled with both in 2019, leaving him overly reliant on his fastball. Making matters worse, his velocity was down at times, and scouts thought he was working so hard to add velocity that his command suffered. The end result was a fastball he couldn't control that hitters sat on, and summarily punished.

THE FUTURE: Widener's year created doubt about his future as a starter. He will need to rediscover his fastball velocity and command and find a consistent secondary pitch to succeed in any role.
Track Record: The Yankees traded Widener to the Diamondbacks in February 2018 as part of the three-team Steven Souza Jr. trade also involving the Rays. Widener turned in the most consistent season of any Diamondbacks starter in 2018, earning the organization's pitcher of the year honors while leading the Double-A Southern League in strikeouts and WHIP and finishing second in ERA.

Scouting Report: Widener's success is in large part built off a dominant fastball. The pitch sits around 92-93 mph and usually tops out around 95, and he generates lots of swings and misses with it, including up in the strike zone. His secondary stuff was less consistent. His changeup improved in 2018, going from a traditional offspeed/velocity-separation pitch to a power change out of the Zack Greinke mold that's more about disrupting timing and inducing ground balls. It became his best secondary offering, moving ahead of a slider that has some bite but at times can be more like a slurve.

The Future: Widener is beloved for his competitiveness, but he does have some effort and aggression in his delivery and a less-than-ideal arm stroke. Combine that with the inconsistent secondary stuff and some see his ultimate home being in the bullpen. He'll get every chance to start, however, and likely will move to Triple-A Reno in 2019.
At South Carolina, Widener moved back and forth between the bullpen and the rotation before making nine starts in 17 appearances in his junior season. He ranked as BA's No. 2 prospect in the Coastal Plain League in 2015, just behind current Marlins prospect Brian Miller. Widener had ulnar transposition surgery in the fall between his sophomore and junior seasons and has also has dealt with injuries to his back and knee in the past. He spent all of the 2017 regular season with high Class A Tampa this year but was moved to Double-A Trenton for the postseason. He made history with the Thunder when he pitched the final five innings of the team's no-hitter in the Eastern League Division Series. His four-pitch arsenal includes a 92-97 mph fastball fired from a three-quarter arm slot. His go-to offspeed offering is his slider in the low-80s that gets swings and misses, but his 81-87 mph changeup, which features depth and fade, is catching up rapidly. His curveball is a distinct fourth pitch at this point. The Yankees have used Widener as a starter, but his future is more likely as a long reliever. He'll return to Trenton in 2018.

Draft Prospects

The No. 2 prospect in the Coastal Plain League in 2015, Widener has always teased with his electric stuff but has struggled to find consistency throughout his college career. The 6-foot, 200-pound righthander has served a variety of roles for the Gamecocks, closing some and beginning this spring in the weekend rotation. He sits 90-93 mph with a repeatable delivery, but he's touched as high as 97 mph and uses a hard mid-80s slider as his main offspeed weapon. Widener had ulnar nerve transposition surgery in the fall and has had issues with his knee and back in the past. He's probably a reliever at the next level.
Scouts had hoped Widener would be one of those high school righthanders that flashes arm strength in the summer and fall before taking a step forward in the spring, but it hasn't happened. He lost some weight and it seemed to sap his arm strength, and he pitched at 88-89 mph this spring with fringy secondary stuff. He lacks much projection at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds. He could be in the mix as a weekend starter early in his career at South Carolina.

Minor League Top Prospects

Drafted by the Yankees in 2016 and pushed to the high Class A Florida State League in 2017, Widener led the circuit in strikeout rate and WHIP. He led the SL in those same categories in 2018—striking out 11.6 per nine innings with a 1.03 WHIP—but not before the Yankees shipped him to the D-backs in a three-team trade that netted them Brandon Drury. Widener ranked second in the minors with 176 strikeouts this season, doing so primarily on the strength of his fastball. He pitches at 92-93 mph and tops out at 95 with a high-spin fastball featuring riding life up in the zone that hitters just can’t time. He mixes in two-seam fastballs low in the zone for a different look. Widener sells a plus changeup with good arm speed, and the pitch plays up because he’s always around the plate with his fastball. He improved his low-80s slider with three-quarters break to at least fringe-average, , giving him three major league weapons.

Best Tools List

Rated Best Fastball in the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2019

Scouting Reports

TRACK RECORD: Widener won Diamondbacks minor league pitcher of the year in his first season with the club after they acquired him from the Yankees in a three-team deal in Feb. 2018. The wheels came off in year two, however, as Widener was unable to survive the harsh conditions of Triple-A Reno, particularly BA GRADE 50 Risk: Extreme BA GRADE 50 Risk: Extreme BA GRADE 45 Risk: High with livelier baseballs. He finished the year with an 8.10 ERA and missed a month with elbow soreness.

SCOUTING REPORT: Widener has always thrived by relying on his fastball, a pitch that has good ride through the zone and plays above its 92-95 mph velocity. His changeup and slider never have been dominant or consistent, but he struggled with both in 2019, leaving him overly reliant on his fastball. Making matters worse, his velocity was down at times, and scouts thought he was working so hard to add velocity that his command suffered. The end result was a fastball he couldn’t control that hitters sat on, and summarily punished.

THE FUTURE: Widener’s year created doubt about his future as a starter. He will need to rediscover his fastball velocity and command and find a consistent secondary pitch to succeed in any role.
TRACK RECORD: Widener won Diamondbacks minor league pitcher of the year in his first season with the club after they acquired him from the Yankees in a three-team deal in Feb. 2018. The wheels came off in year two, however, as Widener was unable to survive the harsh conditions of Triple-A Reno, particularly with livelier baseballs. He finished the year with an 8.10 ERA and missed a month with elbow soreness.

SCOUTING REPORT: Widener has always thrived by relying on his fastball, a pitch that has good ride through the zone and plays above its 92-95 mph velocity. His changeup and slider never have been dominant or consistent, but he struggled with both in 2019, leaving him overly reliant on his fastball. Making matters worse, his velocity was down at times, and scouts thought he was working so hard to add velocity that his command suffered. The end result was a fastball he couldn't control that hitters sat on, and summarily punished.

THE FUTURE: Widener's year created doubt about his future as a starter. He will need to rediscover his fastball velocity and command and find a consistent secondary pitch to succeed in any role.
Widener came to the Diamondbacks as part of the Steven Souza Jr. deal, and he’s put together a strong season in the Jackson rotation, racking up strikeouts while limiting walks. Scouts say he generates swings and misses with a fastball he uses up in the zone. Both his slider and change-up have the chance to be average pitches. He has some effort in his delivery, leading some to wonder if his future might be in relief.