Nathan Taylor is a 6'5", 230-pound right-hander out of Cincinnati who has quietly put together an impressive two-year résumé, logging 111 innings across 2025 and 2026. Taylor’s profile gets more interesting the deeper you dig. First, the physical foundation is immediately striking. His 6'5", 230lb build with a heavy supinator bias is a combination that some pro organizations covet, and Taylor's arsenal is built entirely around it. His primary offering is a cut-fastball at 92-94 that generates natural glove-side movement, a pitch that plays differently than a traditional four-seamer and keeps hitters from ever getting a clean look at a flat fastball. The star of the show, however, is the mid-80s "death ball" slider, a shape with enough depth and velocity to function as a legitimate platoon-neutral offering. The kick change is the third weapon, and the added depth relative to his 2025 version is a nice development. The 2025-to-2026 trajectory tells a positive story: his BB% has dropped from 9.7% to 5.6%, his K/9 has jumped to 12.75, and his WHIP sits at 1.17 through 24 innings, suggesting real in-season refinement rather than a static profile. Taylor is a high-upside supinator arm with a unique movement profile and the size profile that should generate significant draft-day interest.

Jack Natili is one of the most compelling under-the-radar catching prospects in this draft class. A transfer from Rutgers who landed at Cincinnati and has done nothing but rake since arriving in the Big 12. In his first season as a Bearcat in 2025, he slashed .338/.451/.609 with 9 home runs and 53 RBI, with his .451 OBP ranking first among all catchers in the Big 12 Conference. The 2026 numbers through 159 PA have picked up right where he left off. He’s hitting .333/.403/.630 with 9 home runs, a 24.3% barrel rate, and a 108.7 90th percentile exit velocity. What stands out most is a 21.1% chase rate that ranks among the best at the position nationally, paired with a 14.9% in-zone whiff rate and 9.4% walk rate. He brings a contact quality and zone management profile that is pretty rare from behind the plate. For a catcher hitting at this level with that kind of discipline, the pro projection is straightforward: a bat-first catcher who can profile in the middle of a professional lineup if the defensive tools continue to develop alongside the offensive ceiling.