[6] His offensive output improved as well, as he batted .263 with 10 home runs in 133 games with the Potomac Nationals in 2013, earning him honors as the team's Player of the Year, before heading to Puerto Rican winter baseball to play for the Indios de Mayaguez.

Despite starting the season well by sporting a .279 batting average, he was optioned to the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs on April 19 to make room on the active roster for Span.

In his first at-bat in the ninth inning, he came up with the bases loaded for the first time in his career and hit a go-ahead grand slam, effectively clinching the game for the Nationals.

[18][19] On August 20, Taylor hit the second-longest home run of the 2015 MLB season, crushing a pitch from Colorado Rockies starter Yohan Flande 493 feet into the stands at Coors Field.

[20][21][22] Taylor suffered a right knee injury on August 27 after slamming into the wall while attempting to run down a line drive off the bat of Melvin Upton, Jr.,[23] but he was healthy enough to make a pinch-hitting appearance in the tenth inning against the Atlanta Braves on September 4.

[25] On September 8, Taylor hit a "Little League grand slam" off of New York Mets pitcher Matt Harvey after a bases-loaded single got by center fielder Yoenis Céspedes and went to the wall.

He had five swinging strikeouts against the Los Angeles Dodgers and a fielding error that cost the Nationals the game when he failed to get his glove to the ground in time while charging a routine groundball hit by Yasiel Puig in the bottom of the ninth inning.

[32] Taylor's return to the major leagues was short-lived, however, as he was optioned back to Syracuse after going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in a loss against the San Diego Padres on July 24.

[33] Taylor rejoined the major league team after a little more than a month with the Chiefs, where he posted a meager .205 batting average over 31 games, being recalled August 29.

However, for the third straight season, Taylor found himself in the role of everyday center fielder after the presumptive starter was injured early in the year, with Eaton tearing ligaments in his knee while running the bases in late April.

[38] Given regular playing time, Taylor resurrected a batting average that had hovered below .200 in limited appearances prior to Eaton's season-ending injury, hitting .290 in May and June while demonstrating above-average power.

[41] He spent more than a month on the disabled list, with rookie Brian Goodwin taking over as the Nationals' regular center fielder in Taylor's absence.

Two years to the day after his "Little League grand slam" against the New York Mets, on September 8, 2017, Taylor hit a bases-loaded line drive to center field off Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jake Thompson that a leaping Odúbel Herrera was unable to snare.

Taylor circled the bases on the play, which was scored an inside-the-park grand slam — the first in Major League Baseball since Aaron Altherr's on September 25, 2015.

In the same game, Taylor also singled twice and tripled, driving in a total of five runs, and recorded an outfield assist at home to preserve the Nationals' lead in the eventual 11–10 victory.

[57] On January 23, 2023, the Royals traded Taylor to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for minor league pitchers Steven Cruz and Evan Sisk.