Brien Taylor: The Story of a Number One Pick’s Rise and Fall

Prior to the 1992 season, Brien Taylor was the number one rated prospect according to Baseball America. He was selected number one overall by the New York Yankees in 1991 after all. He earned his spot as the top prospect. After the 1992 season, but prior to the 1993 season, Baseball America was still feeling warm and fuzzy about him. They rated him the number two prospect in America, behind none other than Chipper Jones. He dropped further down the list after 1993 though, ranking out at 18 prior to the 1994 season. By the end of 2000, he was out of baseball.

In 1990, the New York Yankees finished 67-95, good enough for last place in the American League. That futility earned them the number one overall draft pick in the ’91 draft. It’s a position not many expect the Yankees to be in – picking first – but they were, and they thought they had a star in their choice at the top of this amateur draft. Not only were the Yankees picking first for the first time in franchise history, they were faced with choosing between a stud college player and a high school phenom.

The Yankees ultimately went with Taylor. His numbers in high school were incredible. With a 96-98 mph fastball, and nasty breaking stuff, Taylor blew away high school hitters. Coming out of high school in North Carolina, the Yankees were primarily concerned with getting Taylor adjusted to professional baseball before anything else. According to a 1991 article in The Sporting News by Mike Eisenbath, then Yankees Vice President in charge of of player development and scouting said Brian Saeben:

"I’m not saying he’ll end the year at Tampa, but this will be his first time away from home. And no high school player, no matter where he’s from has matured yet."

The team probably should have been more concerned with signing Taylor first before focusing on treating his potential home sickness. Taylor was represented by an up-and-coming agent by the name of Scott Boras. In 1991 Boras had yet to make the name for himself that he has now, but he was sill very good at what he does.

The Yankees, fearful of losing Taylor to college ball, and Boras, with sound negotiating skills, agreed to a then-record $1.55 million signing bonus. The baseball world was shocked. It wasn’t the first million dollar bonus given to a high school player, but it was now the highest in total. Boras also represented Todd Van Poppel who one year prior signed a $1.2 million bonus with the Athletics rather than attend college.

When veteran players and older executive complained about the large amounts being doled out to these high school player, Boras – as only Boras can do – replied with a logical and convincing argument that quieted things down.

"Their perception of the draft and baseball is of the time when they signed. They understand free agency and arbitration, but you can’t expect them to understand the draft of the 90’s."

Despite the cost, and in what would become a trend with the Yankees, the team got their man and that was all that mattered in the end. With the help of Taylor’s mother Bettie, a carefully planned enrollment in junior college, and the precedent set by Van Poppel’s bonus, Boras was able to essentially scare the Yankees into raising their initial $350,000 initial offer to $1.55 million.

Now, Brien Taylor, a teenager used to a life in a North Carolina trailer where he would help his mother sort crabs for a seafood company out of Beaufort, NC, was a millionaire and a professional baseball player.

Despite Brian Saeben’s plans, Taylor bypassed rookie ball in 1992, probably because of how late he signed in 1991, and went straight to high-A ball in Ft. Lauderdale. In 161.1 innings pitched with Ft. Lauderdale of the Florida State League, Taylor shined. He went 6-8, but posted a 2.57 ERA and was striking out 10.4 batters every nine innings. He exhibited the control not many veterans show let alone 20-year old kids. He walked just 3.7 batters per nine innings in his first year of pro ball. This inevitably earned him a quick promotion to double-A.

As a member of the Albanie-Colony Yankees of the Eastern League, Taylor continued to impress. He threw 163 innings and started 27 games. His final record was 13-7 with a 3.48 ERA. His strikeout numbers dipped and his walks increased, but Taylor was still impressing just about anyone who watched him play. Soon though, the winter between baseball seasons came, and as boys often do, Taylor got into trouble.

Back home in North Carolina, Taylor reportedly got in a fight on December 18, 1993. He dislocated his pitching shoulder in the fight. To add insult to injury, Taylor was charged with misdemeanor assault stemming from the fight. He was evaluated by team doctors, and ultimately underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery on December 28, 1993. The Yankees had planned to send Taylor to Triple-A Columbus, but instead Taylor would miss the entire 1994 season.

When Taylor returned in 1995, he was sent to the Gulf Coast League Yankees of rookie league ball to work on getting his form back. But it was clear he wasn’t the same pitcher. In 40 innings pitched, Taylor struggled to a 6.08 ERA and an astronomical 12.2 BB/9. He had lost his control completely. While Taylor was still striking batters out at a pace of 8.6/9, he was walking too many.

Despite the poor rookie ball performance, Taylor got the promotion to Single-A in Greensboro, NC. He would be playing close to home and perhaps that would help him regain some of the stuff that made him so dominating is his first 300 plus innings of professional baseball. Instead, Taylor struggled more. He threw 16.1 innings in 1996, 27 innings in 1997, and 25.1 innings in 1998. His ERA ballooned. He continued to walk an absurd amount of batters.

It was clear the Brien Taylor of old was gone. He did not play in 1999, but made one last attempt at a comeback in 2000 with Greensboro – now of the Indians organization. He tossed 2.2 innings, gave up five hits, 11 runs, 9 walks, and struck out just 2. He was done. He was out of baseball after that.

But despite this former number one overall pick’s fall from baseball grace, the story didn’t end 12 years ago. Taylor built a life for himself in North Carolina, had a family, and has now found himself in more trouble. In what was almost foreshadowing the news that came out yesterday, on January 4th of this year, Fangraphs took a look back at Taylor’s career:

"Now more than 20 years after the fact, you can’t help but wonder what could have been. Perhaps Taylor’s pre-injury control problems were too much to overcome and he never would have made it anyway. Maybe he would have led the league in walks a few times before realizing batters couldn’t touch him even when he threw the ball right down the middle, kinda like Randy Johnson. The possibilities are infinite, and Taylor remains arguably the best pitcher none of us ever got to see."

Yesterday, according to an Associated Press report, Taylor was arrested and faces multiple drug charges. Undercover narcotics agents posing as buyers allegedly purchased large amounts of cocaine and crack from Taylor. This occurred over the course of several months as the Carteret County Sheriff’s Office built their case.

The 40-year old Taylor, long removed from a pitcher’s mound, is now behind bars. What was a sad story to begin with, got even sadder with this news. Star athletes who can no longer perform often don’t know what to do with themselves. In Taylor’s case, though, he has spent the last 12 years in relative obscurity. Now, though, he is back in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Research courtesy of SABR.org, Paper of Record, and The Sporting News Archives.

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