Taylor has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse.

With Denard Span coming off the DL to take over center field duties, the Nationals elected to send Taylor down to get regular playing time. In 12 games this season with Washington, he hit .271/.314/.500 with two home runs and two steals, but also struck out 19 times in 51 at-bats.

Taylor went 2-for-4 Tuesday with three RBI and his second stolen base of the season.

Hitting ninth instead of leadoff may have taken some pressure off the rookie, but despite the good performance Taylor still struck out for the 12th time in eight games. Denard Span is ahead of schedule in his recovery from core muscle surgery, but Taylor should still get another week or so in the starting lineup.

Taylor will bat ninth Tuesday against the Red Sox, James Wagner of the Washington Post reports.

After an 0-for-4 showing in Monday's series opener, Taylor is now batting .207 with 11 strikeouts on the young season. Manager Matt Williams will move him to the opposite end of the batting order, slotting Yunel Escobar in as his leadoff man, and it's possible Taylor could remain in the nine-hole until his play warrants a move back up.

Taylor went 1-for-4 on Saturday with a walk, three strikeouts and his first stolen base of the season.

He's been one of the few bright spots in the Nationals' offense through the first week of the season, collecting a hit in each of the club's first five games and slashing .286/.318/.524. Taylor also has seven K's in 21 at-bats, however, so unless he starts making more consistent contact his numbers could tumble in a hurry.

Taylor went 1-for-4 with a solo home run to lead off the game in the Nationals' 4-1 loss to Philadelphia on Friday night.

He's now hitting .294 with a home run and three RBI to start the season, and should be in line for plenty of playing time for now. However, the question will come when Denard Span and Jason Werth return from injuries and the outfield picture becomes much more cloudy.

Taylor will start in center field and bat leadoff against the Mets on Monday, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reports.

This is the way manager Matt Williams' lineup was trending toward the end of spring action, with Taylor atop the order, followed by Yunel Escobar, Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman. Taylor struck out 15 times in 65 Grapefruit League at-bats but also hit at a .323 clip with five doubles, two triples and four home runs. He should hold down a regular spot in the lineup at least until Denard Span (abdomen) returns.

Taylor will hit leadoff in the Nationals' final exhibition game on Saturday against the Yankees, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reports.

Other than the Nats needing a DH, Saturday's lineup looks to be the one the club will use to kick off the regular season. Taylor has a chance to produce some real fantasy value while he fills in for Denard Span (core surgery) in center field, but he'll need to keep his strikeout issues under control.

Taylor homered twice off Justin Verlander in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Tigers.

While it's hard to say whether the performance says more about Taylor or Verlander, it is a very encouraging sign for the center fielder, who should see regular at-bats while Denard Span recovers from core muscle surgery. Given Taylor's strikeout issues, don't expect him to be be an asset in batting average, but he could supply some power and speed as a late round sleeper.

Taylor went 1-for-3 Wednesday with his first stolen base of the spring.

He's flashed his power already this spring, hitting .292 with a .625 SLG, so Taylor showing a little speed is nice to see as well. He does have an ugly 0:7 BB:K ratio through 24 at-bats though, so while he is an intriguing sleeper to begin the season thanks to Denard Span's surgery, temper your expectations.

Taylor appears poised to start the season as the Nationals' starting center fielder after Denard Span underwent core muscle surgery Monday, the Washington Post's Chelsea Janes reports.

Span will not be able to partake in baseball activities for 4-to-6 weeks, meaning he will likely need a rehab assignment before rejoining the Nationals, and could miss most, if not all of April. Taylor makes for a very nice fill-in option for Span's owners, and for owners of other injured outfielders like Hunter Pence and Michael Saunders, as Taylor has the potential to contribute right away in homers and steals. The lanky 23-year-old had 22 homers, 34 steals and a 29.5 percent K-rate in 441 plate appearances at Double-A last year, so there will likely be a pretty low batting average accompanying the impressive counting stats while he fills in for Span.

Taylor was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse on Saturday.

The Nats decided to leave Taylor, who logged just 12 games at the Triple-A level during the regular season, down at Syracuse for the affiliate's postseason run. With the Chiefs' season ending with a 7-6 loss Friday, however, the big club will welcome the 23-year-old aboard. Taylor did hit .313/.396/.539 with 22 homers and 34 stolen bases with Double-A Harrisburg before making the jump to Syracuse, but he'll likely work primarily off the bench over the final weeks of the regular season, with the team's starting corps of outfielders healthy.

Taylor was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse on Saturday.

The 23-year-old has made just one plate appearance this week with the Nats' outfield at full strength, but he'll now head to Syracuse to play regularly over the remainder of the minor league season. While Taylor has logged just four games with Syracuse to this point, he hit an impressive .313/.396/.539 in 98 games with Double-A Harrisburg this season and will undoubtedly return once rosters expand.

Taylor had a rough game Friday, going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.

He's gone 0-for-10 in the three games since his impressive debut, and with Jayson Werth set to rejoin the starting lineup this weekend Taylor's first taste of the majors could be nearing it's end. He's put himself firmly in the Nationals' future plans this season though.

Taylor, making his major league debut in right field on Tuesday, hit eighth and went 2-for-4 with his first career home run.

Welcome to the bigs, kid. The Nationals are waiting to get MRI results back on Jayson Werth's shoulder, and if Werth ends up being sidelined for any length of time Taylor would stand to benefit. Keeper league owners have likely already pounced on him, but owners in single-season leagues who need some outfield help in the short term may want to take a look at Taylor as well.

Taylor will be called up by the Nationals on Sunday, Bill Ladson of MLB.com has confirmed.

Jayson Werth (shoulder/ankle) and Steve Souza (shoulder) are dinged up, which could open up a few starts for Taylor in the short term. With Bryce Harper, Denard Span and Werth holding down the three starting spots when healthy, it's reasonable to think that Taylor's stint with the big club will be brief. Taylor hit .313/.396/.539 with 22 homers, 61 RBI and 34 steals at Double-A this season before a recent promotion to Triple-A.

Taylor is expected to be called up to the Nationals on Sunday, Mark Zuckerman of CSN Washington reports.

Taylor is the Nationals' top outfield prospect and may have a chance to compete for a spot in the lineup with recent injuries to Washington's outfield. Those injuries to Steve Souza (shoulder) and Jason Werth (shoulder/ankle) will allow Taylor to make the quick jump to the majors seeing that he was just promoted to Triple-A on Monday. While the promotion is still pending, no word on who he'll replace has been released yet.

In his Triple-A debut on Monday, Taylor went 2-for-2 with a double, two walks, a run scored and a stolen base.

He passed the Double-A test with flying colors this year, hitting .313/.396/.539 with 22 home runs and 34 steals for Harrisburg before his promotion, with the only blemish on his resume being a terrible 29.5% strikeout rate. Denard Span is having a strong season in the majors in the final year of his contract, but Taylor could be fighting for the Nationals' center field gig sooner rather than later.

Nationals prospect OF Michael Taylor is batting .325/.405/.629 with 10 doubles, 15 home runs, 41 RBI and 14 stolen bases through 52 games this season for Double-A Harrisburg.

The 23-year-old has been one of the more productive hitters in the minors over the last month, batting .393/.467/.766 with six doubles, two triples, 10 home runs, 23 RBI and nine steals in his last 29 contests. Meanwhile, Taylor is currently enjoying a 12-game hitting streak during which he's posted a 1.375 OPS with five home runs. His game still features too much swing and miss, evidenced by his 73/25 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 223 plate appearances, but his contact rate is still trending up and he's already helped him establish a new career-high with 15 home runs. In his second tour of High-A Potomac last season, Taylor batted .263/.340/.426 with 41 doubles, 10 homers, 87 RBI, 51 steals and a 131/55 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 133 games.

Nationals prospect OF Michael Taylor went 3-for-5 with a triple, home run and two RBI on Thursday for Double-A Harrisburg.

The 23-year-old has crushed the ball over his last eight games, batting .407/.467/1.074 with seven extra-base hits (five home runs) and 11 RBI in 30 plate appearances during that span. Taylor enjoyed a breakout campaign last season at High-A Potomac and is on pace to post better numbers this year, with a .275/.359/.549 batting line, 13 extra-base hits (seven home run) and six steals through 28 games. Taylor is an outstanding athlete with loud tools, but his 44/12 strikeout-to-walk ratio (and 131/55 ratio in 133 games last year) indicates his plate discipline and approach needs more refinement.

Nationals prospect OF Michael Taylor was 3-for-4 with three home runs and four RBI Sunday for Double-A Harrisburg.

Taylor, a sixth-round draft pick in 2009, is in his fifth year in Washington's system, and this is his first at the Double-A level. The 23-year-old toolsy outfielder turned in a breakout performance last season at High-A Potomac, batting .263/.340/.426 with 57 extra-base hits and 51 stolen bases in 133 games, but he also posted an ugly 131/55 strikeout-to-walk ratio during that span. Strikeouts have continued to be a problem this year at Harrisburg, as Taylor owns a 36/11 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 21 games. However, he's still managed to post an .841 OPS with nine extra-base hits, five steals and 17 RBI. Taylor is on the Nationals' 40-man roster, but it's hard to see him receiving a look in the majors this season without vastly improving his plate discipline.