San Diego Padres: Who is outfielder Taylor Trammell?

The San Diego Padres received Taylor Trammell in a three-way trade with Cleveland and Cincinnati. What do we know about the prospect?

No doubt every baseball fan has heard of the blockbuster trade between the San Diego Padres, Cleveland Indians, and Cincinnati Reds. The Friars received OF Taylor Trammell from the Reds in their only trade of the season.

The Padres had to give up darling outfielder Franmil Reyes, top 100 prospect Logan Allen, and little-known 3B prospect Victor Nova to get their hands on the Reds number one prospect. It sounds like a hefty price, and while we think it was a good move for San Diego, everyone still wants to know:

Who is Taylor Trammell?

A Georgia native, the 21-year-old was a high school multi-sport athlete in his home state. The left-hander was drafted 35th overall in the 2016 MLB draft and immediately joined the Reds minor league system, where he’s spent the past four seasons.

Trammell started off with their rookie league team, the Billings Mustangs, before moving up to Class A in 2017 to play with the Dayton Dragons. He then joined the Class-A Advanced Daytona Tortugas in 2018 and earned a trip to the Futures Game, where he was named MVP after going 2-for-2 with a home run and a triple.

Most recently, he’s played Double-A ball with the Chattanooga Lookouts, where he’s been since the 2019 season began.

Now a top 30 prospect in all of baseball, Trammell joins the Padres own Double-A Amarillo Sod Poodles. He’ll be teammates with San Diego’s number one prospect MacKenzie Gore along with infielder Owen Miller and 3B Hudson Potts. The outfielder is now the third best prospect in their system.

Likely profiled as a center fielder for the Padres, Trammell has actually spent most of his time in left field. Throughout his minors career, he’s started 257 games in LF, 86 in CF, and 15 in RF. Some concerns about his arm strength for a center fielder abound, but his speed and natural instinct make him an excellent candidate to develop and thrive in the position.

The biggest knock on this trade is his offensive production, which has taken a slight dip this season. Averaging a .287/.372/.426 slash line between 2016-2018, Trammell is currently hitting .236/.349/.336. The initial backlash centers around the Padres giving away a top pitching prospect and Franmil for a young, unproven, and raw outfielder who’s taken a step back at the plate.

Despite his down year though, Trammell has tremendous upside; his speed and OBP create a dual threat around the bases that the Padres desperately need. As a potential left-handed center fielder who’s fast and can get on base, this could very well be a trade that the Padres look back on and praise in a couple of years.

For complete coverage of the San Diego Padres 2019 season, be sure to visit Friars on Base all season long.