COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M junior outfielder Logan Taylor was one of 30 players named to the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award "Watch List" released on Thursday.
The watch list recognizes potential candidates for the award honoring the top amateur baseball player in the country. Sponsored by Major League Baseball, and presented in partnership with the Rod Dedeaux Foundation, the Golden Spikes Award will be presented for the 38th time on Tuesday, June 23, in Los Angeles.
Taylor has played in 47 of the Aggies' 48 games in 2015. He currently ranks third in the SEC in batting average (.377), fourth in slugging percentage (.630) and ninth in on-base percentage (.448). Taylor and Arkansas' Andrew Benintendi are the only two players to rank in the top 10 in all three categories. Taylor leads the Aggies with 10 home runs and 44 RBI.
The Houston, Texas native leads the SEC with a .414 batting average in league play. He also ranks fourth in slugging percentage (.644) and seventh in on-base percentage (.463) in SEC action.
The watch list will continue to be a "rolling" list until May 22 – when the semifinalists for the award are announced – ensuring that athletes can play themselves into consideration for the award. Past lists for 2015 have included sophomore outfielder Nick Banks and junior pitcher Grayson Long.
On May 22, USA Baseball will announce the semifinalists for the 2015 Golden Spikes Award. The semifinalists list will be sent to a voting body consisting of past USA Baseball National Team coaches and press officers, members of the media that follow the amateur game closely, select professional baseball personnel, current USA Baseball staff and the 37 previous winners of the award, representing a group of more than 200 voters.
Fan voting will once again be a part of the Golden Spikes Award in 2015. Friday, May 22, marks the day when amateur baseball fans across the country will be able to vote for their favorite semifinalists at GoldenSpikesAward.com. As part of this selection process, all voters will be asked to choose three players from the list. On Tuesday, June 2, USA Baseball will announce the finalists, and voting will once again commence that same day.
The 2015 Golden Spikes Award winner will be named on Tuesday, June 23, at a presentation in Los Angeles. The finalists and their families will be honored at the Rod Dedeaux Foundation Dinner that evening at the Jonathan Club in downtown Los Angeles.