Port Coquitlam pitcher Curtis Taylor is a step closer to realizing his Major League dream.
The 28-year-old right hander has been promoted to the AAA St. Paul Saints, the top minor-league affiliate of the big-league Minnesota Twins.
The Twins signed Taylor to a minor league contract on May 4 after he had been released by the Iowa Cubs, the AAA farm team of the Chicago Cubs.
Taylor was assigned by Minnesota to play for the Wichita Wind Surge in the AA Texas League.
Despite missing three weeks of the season with an injury, Taylor made 34 appearances as a reliever for the Wind Surge. He won two games, lost five and had a 3.98 earned run average (ERA). In 43 innings he allowed 19 runs, walked 21 batters and struck out 46.
Taylor has had an itinerant career since he was drafted out of the University of British Columbia by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the fourth round of the 2016 MLB draft.
He’s been a part of six Major League organizations, including the Diamondbacks, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals, the Cubs and the Twins, but he's yet to play a big league game.
Instead, Taylor has made a tour of their minor league affiliate teams like the Charlotte Stone Crabs, Montgomery Biscuits, New Hampshire Fisher cats, Buffalo Bisons, Rochester Red Wings and Wllmington Blue Rocks.
He's also had to endure injuries to his shoulder and elbow, along with lengthy rehabilitation stints.
Taylor also played for Canada at the World Baseball Classic in March where he pitched two scoreless innings and allowed just one hit in a 5-0 win over Colombia, but the team failed to advance out of its pool.
Taylor's taste of AAA baseball will be brief, however.
St. Paul wraps up its season this weekend with the last three games of a six-game series against the Toledo Mud Hens. The team is in second place in the International League West with 83 wins and 63 losses.
