STOCKTON, Calif. — Former La Salle High School baseball star Devin Taylor earned his first Minor League Baseball hit Monday night with a run batted in single for the Athletics’ Single-A affiliate.
Taylor, a unanimous All-American at Indiana University this past spring, is a 2022 La Salle High School graduate. Taylor was reassigned to the Stockton (Calif.) Ports this past weekend and made his professional debut there Monday night.
The Modesto Nuts (Seattle Mariners affiliate) defeated host Stockton 12-5 in the first game of a six-game series.
Stockton tied the game in the bottom of the second inning on Taylor’s first professional hit to make it 1-1.
Taylor, who the Athletics selected as the No. 48 pick in the MLB draft on July 13, signed with the team for a $2.5 million signing bonus. He was in Mesa, Ariz., for the Arizona Complex League (ACL) for about two weeks before being reassigned to Stockton.
In April, Taylor broke IU’s all-time home run record with 54. Taylor hit at least 16 home runs in all three seasons and had 229 hits in 655 at-bats, according to IU. His batting average went from .315 to .374 from his freshman to junior seasons.
Taylor was the seventh-highest selected player in IU program history during the summer MLB Draft era (since 1965), according to IU.
He was recognized as a first-team selection by Perfect Game, Baseball America and the College Baseball Foundation, and was a second-team pick by D1 Baseball and other outlets. He also earned eight All-American honors during his collegiate career.
Taylor was recognized by every major college baseball outlet following his junior season.
