Brayden Taylor

Brayden Kerry Taylor (born May 22, 2002) is an American professional baseball shortstop in the Tampa Bay Rays organization.

Amateur career
Taylor went to Copper Hills High School located in West Jordan, Utah, where he played on their baseball team. He achieved all-state honors as a junior in 2019 after he batted .443 with ten stolen bases. He was ranked No. 188 in the nation by Perfect Game heading into his senior season. He only played in three games during his senior season in 2020 due to it being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He went unselected in the 2020 Major League Baseball draft, and enrolled at Texas Christian University (TCU) to play college baseball. Taylor was named TCU's starting third baseman as a freshman in 2021. Over 58 starts, he batted .324 with a team-high 12 home runs, 53 RBIs, 49 walks and 15 stolen bases alongside a .924 fielding percentage. He was named the Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year. In the summer he played for the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod League. He batted .269/.361/.385, and on defense split his time between second base and third base.

As a sophomore in 2022, Taylor played in 59 games (58 starts) and hit .314 with 13 home runs, fifty RBIs, and 55 walks compared to forty strikeouts. After the season, he briefly played in the Cape Cod Baseball League with the Falmouth Commodores, batting .242. He was also named to and played with the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.

Professional career
Taylor was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the first round, with the 19th overall selection, of 2023 Major League Baseball draft. On July 21, 2023, Taylor signed with the Rays on for the full-slot value of $3,880,100.