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. (more…)

Feb 24, 2011; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Oakland Athletics shortstop Adrian Cardenas (6) poses for a picture during photo day at the Phoenix Municipal Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-US PRESSWIRE

The A’s designated Adrian Cardenas for assignment on Thursday after the team signed free agent outfielder Jonny Gomes. Cardenas, 24, appeared in 127 games last year with Oakland’s Triple-A team the Sacramento River Cats. In 545 at-bats, Cardenas hit .314/.374/.418 with five home runs and 51 RBIs.

The decision to designate Cardenas for assignment seems to make sense on the surface. The A’s had him playing all over the place last season, with Cardenas splitting time between left field, short stop, third base, and second base. It is obvious, to anyone following the organization, that the A’s just didn’t have a clear idea as to where Cardenas “fit” in at.

Cardenas has spent his entire career in the minor leagues, but a team other than the A’s could give Cardenas a chance. He doesn’t bring a whole lot of power to the table and power is something you would expect from your everyday third-baseman. Then again, Cardenas, at this point anyway, is more of a utility guy more than anything. (more…)

Stockpiling Talent: The A's have been good, over the years, at stockpiling young, inexpensive pitchers. (Photo Credit: MLB.com)

Over the next couple of days Swingin’ A’s will take a closer look at some of the prospects the Athletics scored in the Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez, and Andrew Bailey trades. We now turn our attention to right-handed pitcher Brad Peacock, who was acquired in the Gio Gonzalez trade. 

The A’s are a team that seemingly knows how to find great, young, and inexpensive pitching and the acquisition of Brad Peacock is no exception. Peacock, 23, was a former top prospect for the Washington Nationals that the A’s acquired when they sent their All-Star lefty Gio Gonzalez to D.C.

Peacock, a former 41st round draft pick of the 2006 MLB Draft, has a good-arm and currently ranks as Oakland’s No.2 prospect according to MLB.com. According to FanGraphs.com, Peacock currently boasts a fastball that reaches 96 mph in addition to a curveball and a developing change-up.

Peacock enjoyed some success this past season with Washington’s Double-A and Triple-A teams, going a combined 15-3 with a 2.39 ERA over a total of 146.2 innings pitched. He went 10-2 with a 2.01 ERA in Double-A Harrisburg and 5-1 with a 3.19 ERA in Triple-A Syracuse. (more…)