Miguel Olivo

When Olivo left Coors Field for Safeco last season, it was assumed his power numbers would stay behind in Colorado. Surprisingly, Olivo's power made the trek to Seattle, as he outpaced his 2010 number to finish with 19 homers, fifth among American League catchers. Olivo didn't just do his damage on the road. He split his homers, 10 at home in 235 at-bats and nine on the road in 242 at-bats. What Olivo didn't do, though, was get on base at a productive clip. The Mariners brought in the left-handed hitting John Jaso, who could platoon with him, and Jesus Montero could also get time at catcher. Olivo, though, enters spring training as the starter.

Olivo followed his career year in 2009 with another productive season in 2010. He set career highs in batting average (.269), on-base percentage (.315) and walk rate (29.7 percent). At 31, he didn't find the fountain of youth but rather a .346 BABIP. Expect his numbers to regress as they did last season after the All-Star break (.193/.225/.313). Olivo signed a two-year contract with the Mariners in December, and the power numbers he put up at Coors Field (.556 SLG, 10 HR, 26 XBH) won't hold up at Safeco Field.

Although Olivo has some pop in his bat, reaching career highs in 2009 in both home runs (23) and RBI (65), he provides little else. His days as a Royal are behind him as management opted to seek a defensive upgrade behind the plate and give Jason Kendall a two-year deal. Besides his awful .292 OBP, Olivo had only 19 walks while striking out 126 times in 416 plate appearances, so his plate discipline leaves much to be desired. Olivo signed with the Rockies in January to serve as their backup catcher behind Chris Iannetta.

He technically platooned with John Buck behind the plate in 2007, but Buck beat him in the at-bat battle 370 to 306 despite the fact that Olivo out-slugged Buck .444 to .365. His OBP remained abysmal (.278), largely due to the fact that he doesn’t like to walk (just seven all season). Olivo activated his option for 2009 under the guarantee that he would be the starter, so he will probably get the better share of a 60-40 or 70-30 split with Buck.

He hit for his usual decent power but his batting average sunk to bad, dragging his OBP down to abysmal. If the Marlins were satisfied with his other contributions his job might be safe, but the pitching staff seemed far more comfortable with Matt Treanor behind the plate so Olivo was non-tendered by Florida. He signed a one-year deal with the Royals in December and will spell John Buck every third day or so.

At the plate Olivo offers absolutely nothing but power, but the Marlins were content with his defense and he seemed to mesh well with the club's young hurlers. The closest thing to a catching prospect in the system behind him, Brett Hayes, is coming off an injury-marred season at Low-A, so Olivo has as much job security any major league hitter with a .287 OBP.

Olivo hit well for the Pads, posting a .304 average and .828 OPS over 115 AB. He'll compete for the starting job after signing with the Marlins in the offseason. His upside is mostly with his legs, as he could post 10-plus steals if he gets regular duty.

Olivo arrived in Seattle mid-season last year as part of the Freddy Garcia trade. The Mariners finally gave up on Ben Davis, but didn't get much better results from Olivo, who hit just .200 with 55 K in 160 AB after the trade and struggled defensively with nine passed balls in 394 innings (Dan Wilson allowed none in 827.3 innings). His woes forced the team to stick with the aging Wilson, and although he enters 2005 as the anointed starter, he'll share time with Wilson. He has good upside, but needs to improve rapidly if he is going to be a viable fantasy candidate.

A lack of options pushed Olivo to the majors a little ahead of schedule in 2003, and while the White Sox had no complaints about his defense -- as long as Pudge Rodriguez stays in the NL he's got maybe the strongest gun in the junior circuit -- he was overmatched at the plate. Some improvement can be expected this year, but it'll probably be a while before he's anything but a hole in the batting order.

The White Sox organization seems to have a fondness for catchers who can run, so Olivo's 29-steal showing in Double-A last year catapulted him to the top of their prospect lists. The rest of his game wasn't bad either though, as he hit .306/.381/.479. With the trade of Mark Johnson, there's a major league opening for Olivo, and if Josh Paul pulls his usual disappearing act, Olivo could be the starter by the All-Star break.