Image credit: IMAGE IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Players sometimes announce themselves to the baseball world. Last year, Cam Schlittler threw eight shutout innings against Boston in his first hour outing, giving him the nod for this season’s Cy Young campaign. So far in the 2026 playoffs, the breakout stars have been a gift for Taylor.
The White Sox have played in all three playoff games, and two of them thanks to Taylor’s dominant pitching to close the games. He threw 54 pitches and 2 innings to complete the Wild Card opener against Houston, then pitched a 42-pitch, four-inning save in the Division Series Game One in Cleveland. Those are the two longest outings of his MLB career in innings pitched and pitched, and his workload doesn’t seem to faze him at all. It’s a preview of what’s to come in 2027, when the White Sox plan to turn to a starter.
It’s no wonder Taylor was untouched in the playoffs because he’s been so great since he debuted in June 2025. His 4.91 ERA as a rookie reliever didn’t tell — his DRA was 68, thanks to a 34.4% strikeout rate and no home runs allowed in 36 innings. In 2026, his 2.25 ERA is more closely aligned with Chicago’s 69 DRAs, giving him 84 innings over 60 appearances in which he struck out 106 of 336 opposing hitters, with a 46.7% strikeout rate.
What’s surprising and impressive is: 1) How well he’s held his stuff deeper into games than he ever has before at the MLB level, and 2) He’s commanding four pitches in his arsenal. Here are the usage and the metrical material from the fixed time;