BONUS PROSPECT! Taylor Featherston makes an unplanned entry to our Top 30 countdown after getting picked up by the Angels in the Rule 5 draft. Even though it blew up our list, Featherston was just too intriguing of a prospect for us to not profile. As a result, here is number 13½ on our prospect countdown, Taylor Featherston.
Taylor Featherston
In 10 words or less: Rule 5 pick has a chance to be really good.
Position: 2B/SS Born: 10/8/89
Bats: R Throws: R
Height: 6’1″ Weight: 185
Last Year Rank: Unranked (in Colorado organization)
2014 Season Stats
[table id=52 /]
OFFENSE
Contact – C. Featherston will swing and miss at a relatively frequent pace, but it isn’t so bad that he’ll lead the league in strikeouts. He’s not Alberto Callaspo out there either. But he has a very direct path to the ball, so one could theoretically envision him improving in this facet, though I believe it’s unlikely. He’s average in terms of contact.
Power – B. Featherston lives in the gaps. He sprays line drives with regularity and has even shown a considerable amount of over-the-wall power in his time in the minors so far, but it should be noted that he’s more of a doubles hitter. Double-digit HR’s, 30+ doubles and a decent collection of triples at every stop in the minors. His Slugging % and OPS have been steadily above average in every environment, hitter friendly or not.
Discipline – B. Featherston seemed considerably more polished at the lower levels of minor league ball, but this likely had a lot to do with being a college bat facing inferior pitchers. Now that he’s reached the high minors, he’s still able to reach base at a decent clip, provided that his hits fall at a consistent rate.
Speed – B. Double digit stolen bases at every level. Also characterized as a smart base-runner. Are you beginning to see a pattern in these grades?
DEFENSE
Arm – B. Featherston has spent a lot more time at 2B than SS, though that’s no fault of his own. The Rockies have a guy named Troy Tulowitzki at shortstop and were looking for ways to get Taylor into the lineup in the future. Still, Featherston has a “plus-plus” arm at 2B, a “plus” arm at shortstop and more than enough arm to play either 3B or the OF if that comes around.
Fielding – B. Featherston has a great glove at second base, a good glove at shortstop and has shown promise at 3B as well. He’s a natural shortstop but because of his plus-athleticism he’s been able to shift around the diamond wherever he’s needed and hasn’t been a butcher out there.
Range – B. Taylor has far above average range as a second baseman, average range as a shortstop and would seem to have above average range for third baseman.
OVERALL
Performance – B. It was more of the same from Taylor in 2014. The batting average dipped down to .260, but it was his first run in with advanced pitching and the Texas League environment can be brutal. .260 is basically the floor of his potential as he was able to hover around .300 in both levels of A ball and in the Arizona Fall League against some of the minors best pitchers. He still continued to reach base, drive the ball, steal bases and play solid defense. It’s also noted that Feaherston is a hard-nosed worker that’s well-liked by his teammates and is seen as a leader in the clubhouse.
Projection – B/C. At the very least, Taylor projects to be a very good utility infielder because not only can he offer you good defense at a variety of positions, but he’s also not lost at the plate and can run the bases quite well. As a hit-the-lottery projection, he could possibly be the Angels everyday 3B once Freese is gone and be of greater value than anyone the Angels have had there in the last 6 years (which doesn’t say a lot). I’d say his true role lies somewhere between the two. He’ll be a utility infielder, but I could see the Angels working him into the lineup on a consistent basis in the same way they did with Maicer Izturis.
Grade as a Prospect – B-/C+. Though he’s right on or slightly behind the age curve, Featherston has met success at every level. Because of his across the board talent and his recent selection as a Rule 5 Draft pick, it’s easy to see he’s an above average prospect.
Estimated Time of Arrival – 2015. Well it’s either play for the Angels or be offered back to the Rockies. He plays a better shortstop and third base than any of the other utility infield candidates and may even beat out Rutledge and Green for the starting gig at second base.
2014 in Review*
Taylor Featherston was pretty good for the Rockies in a full season of Double-A ball. He continued to prove that he is one of those players who does a little bit of everything, though he doesn’t do any of them particularly well. He sustained his decent and OBP skills despite the jump in competition level, though he did see a decent dip in his batting average. That could be some of his contact issues being exposed, but could also be his BABIP dropping down to a more reasonable .305 rather than the .350+ BABIPs he had the previous two years.
If there is one concern that emerged from his offensive performance, it that Featherston tanked against righties last year with a .316 wOBA. This wasn’t a BABIP-induced dip either, that platoon split was more or less even. No, Featherston had significantly less power, fewer walks and more whiffs against right-handed pitching.
The flip side of that is that Taylor murdered lefties. We’re talking about an eye-popping .403 wOBA and .245 ISO. That’s a one year sample, but it shows what he can do. This would be more encouraging if the Angels had a left-hand swinging player for Featherston to platoon with at second base, but maybe that can come in later years.
More importantly to the Angels, he continued to show quality defensive skills. He’s no defensive specialist, but he proved that he can be a capable shortstop, even though he spent the majority of his time playing second base.
Clearly the Rockies liked him a fair amount as they sent him off the Arizona Fall League. Then again, they also failed to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. Why you put a guy in a showcase league and then fail to protect him is beyond me, but that could just be a symptom of the terribly backwards thinking in the Rockies’ sad excuse for a front office.
Looking Ahead*
As a Rule 5 pick, the Angels are going to be forced to make a quick decision on Taylor Featherston and how he fits into their infield mix. As of right now, he has the best glove out of all the guys competing for the starting job at second and the back-up infielder job. More importantly, he is probably the only one of the lot that can actually handle shortstop. That gives him a huge advantage when it comes to the Halos deciding whether or not to keep Featherston on the roster or return him to Colorado. The fact that he runs well is a nice bonus as the Angels’ bench has been curiously devoid of a legitimate pinch-runner the last few years.
What could make the decision a lot easier is if Featherston shows that his bat is big league ready. He’s only going to have spring training to prove it, which hardly seems fair, but that’s just the way these things work. If he completely flames out, then he better stop at the pharmacy to find some altitude sickness medication. But if he hits decently, he could quickly cement his roster spot as the Angels are short on athletic utility infielders that can both hit and field.
If it all works out, it is easy to see Featherston actually getting a fair amount of playing time. He’ll be called upon to spot start for Ayber, Freese and whoever is playing second base, but he’ll also see a lot of action as a late-inning defensive replacement at third or second as well s a pinch-runner. He’s just got to make sure he makes the team first.
Oh, and if he does make the team, he is going to set a new record for player names misspelling. Tyler Featherstone. Tayler Fatherstein. Tailor Fetherson. Tywin Farthingstrom. The possibilities are endless.
*As we do every year, the scouting reports and grades are provided by Scotty Allen while Garrett Wilson provides the 2014 in Review and Looking Ahead sections.
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