30 A's in 30 Days – Michael Taylor

Acquired: Traded from Toronto Blue Jays for 1B/3B Brett Wallace (December 15, 2009).
Contract: Not on 40-man roster.
Position: Future corner OF

Projected BA/OBP/SLG: (.272/.324/.437)

Over/Under: By most accounts, Taylor is the #2 prospect in the A's organization. The obligatory comparison of one black ballplayer to another black ballplayer leads most analysts to associate him with Jermaine Dye – presumably the good version, not the one-legged out-machine the A's employed from 2002-2004. If you believe in translated minor league stats, Taylor might be Oakland's best OF right now. But, he'll almost certainly start 2010 in AAA for the usual insipid "service time" explanation that's nothing but a slap in the face to the fanbase. I'll take the OVER on his projection, even if it's in less than half a season.

One word of warning, though: here's a list of A's outfielders who placed in the top three of Baseball America's annual Top 10 Prospects list over the past 20 years: Felix Jose, Darren Lewis, Mike Neill, Ben Grieve, Jose Herrera, Ryan Ludwick, Eric Byrnes, Javier Herrera, Travis Buck and Carlos Gonzalez. Good to know the best case scenario might be watching Taylor succeed for another team.

By the Numbers: 19 – The average number of home runs Taylor has hit in each of his last two minor league seasons. It's also the combined number of home runs that current A's corner outfielders Rajai Davis and Ryan Sweeney have hit in their entire big league careers. Just sayin'.

Surefire 2010 Prediction: With CF Coco Crisp coming off of double shoulder surgery, it's a virtual certainty that Taylor will be called up at some point this season. In fact, he'll be Oakland's everyday right fielder no later than the All-Star Break.

Tupac Track for the Season: All Eyez on Me