Pro Perspective: Taylor Davis

Pro Perspective: Taylor Davis

Teams

• Chicago Cubs, 2017 - 2019; currently in the Baltimore Orioles organization

Taylor's Early Life

Taylor Davis was born on November 28, 1989 in Tampa, Florida. He played high school Baseball at Jupiter High School in Jupiter, Florida (fun fact, it's the same high school that Dante Bichette went to).

Taylor was drafted out of high school in the 49th round of the 2008 draft by the Florida Marlins, but he decided to go to college instead. The only NCAA Division 1 program to offer him a scholarship was Morehead State University in Kentucky, so Taylor decided to go there. 

He studied business at Morehead State and played Baseball for the Eagles for three years. Then in the summer of 2011, Taylor signed with the Chicago Cubs as a non-drafted free agent. 

Through his first three seasons in the minors, Taylor struggled to get a consistent level of playing time, spending a few seasons at the Rookie league and A/A+ levels. However, his average really picked up in 2014 while at AA, and the following season he was promoted to the AAA Iowa Cubs.  

During his time in Iowa, Taylor became a fan favorite. He worked hard, enjoyed the fans, and was known for intensely staring at the video camera during the national anthem or really, whenever the camera was around.

Late in the 2017 season, the Cubs needed some extra help behind the plate. So they made the call and brought Taylor up to the big leagues.

Making it to the Big Leagues

Taylor made his big league debut at Wrigley Field on September 8, 2017 against the Milwaukee Brewers. It was a 2 - 0 loss to the Brewers during a night game in front of 41,000 fans.

He appeared in 8 games for the Cubs that year, collecting two singles, a double and 1 RBI. Taylor not only caught but played at third base and first base for the 2017 Cubs.

Taylor spent most of 2018 at AAA Iowa, and made it back to the majors for four games that season. He went 2 for 5 (.400) and played first and catcher while with the Cubs in 2018.

Similar to 2018, Taylor spent the majority of the 2019 season in Iowa and appeared in 7 games for the Cubs.

His career highlight (thus far) came on May 4, 2019 during a day game at Wrigley against the St. Louis Cardinals. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth, Davis crush a Michael Wacha pitch into deep left field for a grand slam. What a way to hit your first home run!

Another highlight of the 2019 season came in the 9th inning of an August home game against the A's. Taylor was brought in to pitch (yes, pitch) and he threw a scoreless inning, with Kyle Schwarber behind the plate catching!

After the 2019 season, Taylor signed with the Baltimore Orioles as a free agent. He didn't play in the coronavirus shortened 2020 season, and he appears to be starting the 2021 season with the Orioles' AAA club, the Norfolk Tides. 

Q&A with Taylor

Taylor Davis is a big league catcher with MLB playing time under his belt. He has played under World Series winning manager Joe Maddon and alongside teammates like Kris Bryant, Willson Contreras and Javier Baez.

I wrote to Taylor a few months back seeking his feedback to my questions for catchers. He graciously signed my 2019 Topps card and replied to my questions, as you can read below. 

Like the others in the Pro Perspective series, I wanted to share Taylor's responses with readers so that his input might help catchers interested in bettering themselves. 

Here are Taylor's responses to my questions, as you can also read in the picture below.

Question 1: What has been your favorite Baseball memory so far?

Answer: Home run at Wrigley.

Question 2: What do you think is the most important skill that a catcher should have?

Answer: Receiving.

Question 3: If you could give one piece of advice to young catchers hoping to play at the professional level, what would it be?

Answer: Have fun. Work hard.

There you have it! Taylor's advice to young catchers is to play like he does. How does he play, you ask? By enjoying himself and working his tail off.

Also, a good practical skill that catchers should work on is receiving. Receiving is also a skill that gets an increasing amount of interest and attention at professional levels. Young catchers would be wise to strengthen that skill now.

Thanks for Reading

I enjoy putting these Pro Perspectives together and hope you enjoy them as well. Thank you for reading, and stay on the lookout for more!