At 6-foot-6, Taylor automatically looks like the average baseball park can’t contain him and is making a case that the Eastern League cannot hold him either, having added to an already stellar season at Double-A Reading.

Heading into Tuesday, he had notched six multi-hit games in his last eight games. He is 18 for 33 (.545) during his recent tear, moving Taylor into the Eastern League lead with a .351 batting average. In fact, he is in the triple crown mix. He is second in the league with 56 RBIs and third in the league in homers with 14 — trailing league-leader Brian Dopirak (18 HR, 58 RBI) and former Cal center fielder Brennan Boesch (15 HR).

Power production from a No. 3 hitter built like a NFL tight end should come as no surprise. Yet, having hit just 21 home runs in three years at Stanford, his draft stock stalled as a fifth-round pick in 2007 because of a consensus concern about “The Stanford Swing:” The term given to the level, compact stroke that has become the foundation of the Cardinal hitting philosophy.

“There was some truth to it — and it’s also overblown,” Taylor said. “There are a ton of guys that have had success at Stanford both in college and as pro players. But when it comes to developing, it’s about pro projection.”

Taylor said that during his junior year he couldn’t go a day without hearing about “the Stanford swing.” He was widely regarded as harboring one of the best amateur outfield arms in the nation and every facet of his hitting improved from year-to-year. He came to a realization early on at Stanford: He couldn’t prove himself all at once and he wouldn’t try to prove himself in one season.

“It wasn’t going to happen in a year,” Taylor said. “I had to get better and I did get better every year.”

Come draft day 2007, he still wasn’t considered first-round material. Baseball scouting can be fickle toward performance — as opposed to potential — and Taylor knows that.

“I wasn’t done getting better yet,” Taylor said.

Based on the bloodlines alone, perhaps Taylor’s potential should have been better regarded. The reason he is built like a tight end is his father, David, used to be one at University of Maryland.

Before the 2009 season, the Phillies made a trade with the Rangers that reunited Taylor with some Stanford family. The Phils dealt minor-league center fielder Greg Golson to Texas for now-corner outfielder Mayberry, who broke into the big leagues in style on May 23, hitting a home run in a game televised on the Saturday Fox Game of the Week.

“I was excited that it was a good chance for him to break into the big leagues,” Taylor said. “Golson was a friend of mine and he was blocked here too.”

Mayberry and Taylor could very well be competing for the same outfield job in the years to come, which only gives merit to “The Stanford Swing” — along with other recent Stanford hitters to reach the big leagues: Ryan Garko with Cleveland and White Sox slugger Carlos Quentin.

While the Phillies play in the bandbox of Citizen’s Bank Ballpark — Philadelphia is currently tops in the National League in home runs —– the improvements in Taylor’s power game may make believers out of those who doubted “The Stanford Swing,” though its effects do still linger — in Taylor’s philosophy.

“The overall goal is to be a productive player,” Taylor said. “It all turns into runs scored and RBIs, and that’s more indicative of a good player.”