Grant Taylor's move to the White Sox rotation fits his boundary-pushing style

Jason Miller/Getty Images SHARE COPY LINK Share CLOSE Twitter Facebook Bluesky Email Reddit Flipboard LAS VEGAS — If Sean Burke’s emergence is paired with a healthy Davis Martin, and the White Sox land the impact starters they’re seeking , it’s at least possible to envision Grant Taylor joining a rotation that’s a strength next season. It will still pale in comparison to the hype behind the LSU rotation he was set to head up with Paul Skenes, before Tommy John surgery ended Taylor’s collegiate career. “If I had both of those suckers, that might have went down as one of the greatest pitching staffs of all time,” said University of Georgia head coach Wes Johnson, who ran the LSU pitching staff back in 2023. “You know who else was committed to come to LSU that we ended up losing was [Jacob] Misiorowski. The Brewers gave him his money.” Before Johnson left his role as Twins pitching coach in 2022 to join LSU, he had already coached both of Taylor’s older brothers at Arkansas. Even without having pitched an actual game under Johnson, Taylor refers to him as “very pivotal in my life and my career,” and there remain traces of their work together in the way the right-hander’s wrist moves on his curveball, or how he coils on his back hip before exploding toward the plate. But just as familiar to Johnson is the mindset Taylor exuded during his multiple marathon relief appearances in the White Sox’ playoff run. It’s the same nature that will be present as Taylor adapts to starting in the majors, compiling innings loads he’s never approached before. “One of the things I love about Grant is something you can say about a lot of good players,” Johnson told the Sun-Times. “The great ones can take their mind and push it to an uncomfortable place, and then challenge themselves there. Grant is one of the best at it that I’ve had in a while.” Taylor’s game indicates as much. His fastball velocity is in the 96th percentile for MLB pitchers. His extension — the distance he stretches his body out from the pitching rubber to release the baseball — is 95th percentile, despite it being a category dominated by taller, lankier pitchers than the burly, 6-foot-3 Taylor. After he suffered a lat strain in Low-A in 2024, and dealt with post-start soreness in Double-A in 2025, some in the organization wondered if Taylor pushed his body to the boundaries too much to hold up as a starter. In his assessments of Taylor as an amateur, Johnson said the right-hander drives more force into the ground with the front leg of his delivery than any pitcher he’s ever measured. More than he’s struck out 32.5% of all big league hitters he’s faced, the White Sox are justifying Taylor’s move to the rotation with his clean health history in Chicago, and that he’s found a way to reliably harness his awesome power. Also, it’s not like staying healthy as a reliever is easier. “There are some tremendous benefits with player health and production when going to the rotation, if they have certain attributes that will react well,” said general manager Chris Getz. “Based on what we’ve learned about Grant and what Grant has learned about himself in the major leagues, we felt it was the right time.” “I’ve gotten really good at my routine,” Taylor said in mid-September. “It’s just being able to find that extra edge to take things up a notch every single day.” Even as Taylor’s results waned in the Division Series against Cleveland, seemingly alongside extremely heavy usage, he largely held his velocity and insisted he physically felt up to the task at every turn. Was that a testament to a 24-year-old whose consistency has grown in the last 18 months, and has fulfilled the terms for graduating to starting that the team laid out? Or is it a testament to a pitcher wired to push the limits of possibility until the day he has to be dragged off the field? With Taylor, both are in play. “There’ll be a transition there,” Johnson said of Taylor starting. “But boy, I tell you what: man, that sucker’s built different — mentally and physically.” SHARE COPY LINK Share CLOSE Twitter Facebook Bluesky Email Reddit Flipboard James Fegan Chicago Sun-Times White Sox reporter Next Up In Chicago White Sox White Sox' Will Venable named AL Manager of the Year White Sox remain set on adding impact starting pitching, even after shifting Grant Taylor to rotation White Sox moving relief ace Grant Taylor to the rotation, Hagen Smith will remain in the bullpen Breaking down White Sox' offseason needs as GM meetings open in Las Vegas White Sox enter GM meetings with a shorter runway for a vital offseason Remote patrol: NBC has best college football duo on best game of the year