October 20, 2016
Tayler Saucedo is working hard to find consistency with all of his pitches. (Kyle Castle)
Making a name for himself as a member of the Lansing Lugnuts pitching staff, lefty Tayler Saucedo logged 120 1/3 innings for the Blue Jays Midwest League affiliate in 2016.
Splitting his time between the rotation and bullpen, Saucedo proved his value to his club by being versatile and available when his teammates needed him most. While Saucedo will go whenever he’s needed, he has a role he likes better.
“I prefer being in the rotation,” said Saucedo. “That’s because I’ve been a starter my whole life. I’m comfortable going every fifth day. But with that said, I’ll relieve if they need me too. I’ll do whatever it takes to be out on the mound.”
Being on the mound in Lansing was never an issue for Saucedo as he finished second on the club in innings pitched. The biggest obstacle for the prospect last season was finding the consistency he was looking for every evening.
The lefty finished the year with a 1.60 WHIP and a .307 opponent batting average, two areas he’ll be looking to improve next season.
Seeing a direct reason to why Saucedo had a few ups and downs in 2016, Lansing Lugnuts pitching coach Jeff Ware discusses what the prospect needs to work on to find continued success in professional baseball.
“I really like Tayler Saucedo’s stuff,” stated Ware. “He had a couple games where he did a really nice job and he had others where he didn’t do as well. Most of that was because he was falling behind hitters by not throwing enough strikes. Tayler throws a 2-seamer that has a lot of movement to it and it missed the zone a lot. I think once he masters that pitch he’ll find a lot of success in this league.”
Especially proud of that pitch, Saucedo describes the advantages that his 2-seamer gives him while facing opposing batters.
“I have good run on my 2-seam fastball,” stated Saucedo. “I use that run to retire hitters. It has a little movement and the hitters get themselves out with contact.”
Saucedo also uses a 4-seam fastball, slider, curveball, and changeup in his arsenal to keep batters off-balance. With his secondary pitches still in the developmental stages, the lefty discusses where they’re at right now.
“My curveball is a work in progress, but I work on it a lot, especially on the sides.,” explained Saucedo. “I want to use it more in counts early. That way I can set hitters up with the pitch.”
“The Blue Jays want us to use the changeup more,” Saucedo added. “That pitch is a little off and on for me right now. Jeff Ware has been helping me with the pitch and it’ll get better the more I use it in games.”
With a full season now under his belt, Saucedo will be poised to find more success with his pitches and put up better numbers in 2017.
Fans will definitely be watching Tayler Saucedo to see if he can do just that in the Blue Jays minor league system next season.