A’s 2012 Top 10 Prospects, #8: Michael Taylor

September 21, 2011; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics center fielder Michael Taylor (23) at bat against the Texas Rangers during the third inning at O.co Coliseum. Texas defeated Oakland 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE

Every Thursday, Swingin’ A’s will unveil a top Oakland A’s prospect. Starting from number 10 and finishing with number 1, be sure to stop by every Thursday to see who makes the list of the Top 10 Oakland A’s prospects. Let’s turn our attention to outfielder Michael Taylor, who claims the No.8 spot on our Top 10 list of A’s prospects.

While his star is fading by the minute, outfielder Michael Taylor still remains a top prospect in the Athletics’ organization. Acquired by the A’s in whole Cliff Lee–Roy Halladay trade of 2009, Taylor has been shifted around various organizations, but the young 26-year old outfielder remains regarded as a talented player.

Oakland obviously saw something in Taylor when they flipped prospect Brett Wallace, who was acquired in the deal that sent Matt Holliday to St. Louis, for Taylor. The A’s didn’t see much promise in Wallace over at third-base, but they did see some promise in the 6’5″, 255 pound Taylor.

Upon his arrival, though, Taylor hasn’t exactly “wowed” anybody. Moreover, in his only shot in Oakland, Taylor put together a .200/.314/.300 slash line with a home run and an RBI. In his defense, Bob Melvin didn’t exactly use Taylor in the most ideal way. Melvin opted to give David DeJesus, who had a terrible year in Oakland, starting time over Taylor in meaningless September games.

Taylor’s stint in Oakland’s minor league system was filled with mixed-results. In his first year with the organization, Taylor hit .272/.348/.392 with 6 HR and 78 RBIs in 127 games with Triple-A Sacramento. Last year, in 93 games with Sacramento, Taylor hit .272/.360/.456 with 16 HR and 64 RBIs. The power recovered a bit for Taylor last year, but his numbers in Oakland’s system don’t match up particularly well with the numbers he posted in Philladelphia’s system.

Overall, Taylor has put together a nice .296/.371/.476 minor league line, but I’m sure Taylor isn’t content with just having minor league success.

At 26, Taylor’s time is now. Seriously. It is. This spring, there figures to be a ton of competition in A’s camp, especially in the outfield. Bob Melvin, Billy Beane, and the rest of Oakland’s front office will definitely have their work cut out for them this spring.

The recent signing of Yoenis Cespedes doesn’t help Taylor’s bid for a starting job this year, either. The A’s invested $36 million in Cespedes, so it’s figured he’ll be given plenty of opportunities this spring to compete for a starting job. Taylor, then, needs to show the organization what he can do.

The A’s saw something in Taylor a few years ago. Now it’s time Taylor shows them what that something was.

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