Round #6 pick, Michael Taylor. Committed to North Florida, played at Westminster Academy (FL):
This is why coaches everywhere will tell you the Major League Baseball draft is always full of surprises. Every year, countless hours are spent putting together expert projections and analysis. And it seems, every year, a surprise pick or two gets thrown in the mix.
Several of the projections I saw earlier this week all seemed to have American Heritage shortstop Deven Marrero targeted to likely be the first Broward County high school player selected in this year's draft.
Turns out that honor will go to Westminster Academy's Michael Taylor.
Taylor was selected in the sixth round by the Washington Nationals with the 172nd overall pick. He was a first-team All-County selection for the Lions this year after hitting .446 with seven home runs and 29 RBI.
Now Taylor, like all the high school players in this year's draft, faces a choice. Professional baseball or college--Taylor has signed with the University of North Florida.
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports/highschool/broward/blog/2009/06/westminster_academys_taylor_is_1.htmlSCOUTING PROFILE: A year ago, Taylor did not rank with the elite high-schools shortstops in south Florida like Nova High’s Michael Broard, American Heritage’s Deven Marrero or Gulliver Prep’s Stephen Perez. But he made significant strides during the spring in catching up to that group, and with signability issues clouding the status of those three as the draft neared, the possibility surfaced on the eve of the draft that Taylor might even be selected ahead of the talented trio. Taylor has a commitment to North Florida, while Broad and Perez are set to attend Miami, and Marrero has his sights on Arizona State. From the standpoint of legitimate middle-infield actions, arm strength and slightly above-average speed, Taylor ranked with his peers all along, but his bat was much farther away. That changed this spring, however, as Taylor hit .446-7-29 and took measures to address his long swing and develop added strength to drive balls on a more consistent basis.-ALLAN SIMPSON
http://www.pgcrosschecker.com/articles/DisplayArticle.aspx?article=1578
