Nationals' Michael Taylor: Getting green light on basepaths
Taylor has been given a green light to run whenever he wants by manager Dave Martinez unless he's been specifically told to stay put, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post reports.
Martinez's faith in his center fielder's ability on the basepaths has been rewarded, as Taylor notched his ninth steal in nine attempts during Monday's loss to the Giants. Teammate Trea Turner is enjoying the same privilege, but Taylor's freedom is a little more surprising given that he was just 17-for-24 (70.8 percent) on steal attempts last year. Between the two of them they've led the Nats to the top of MLB with 27 stolen bases -- six more than the second-place White Sox -- and their overall 84.4 percent success rate also ranks the team among the league leaders. Taylor is already halfway to a new career high in steals through only 23 games, and despite a weak .218/.291/.321 slash line he's providing plenty of fantasy value just with his legs.