Mike Fontenot

Fontenot hit .283 with just one homer over 240 at-bats between the Cubs and Giants last season. He’s a useful hitter against right-handers (.767 OPS throughout his career), and he re-signed with San Francisco during the offseason. He'll enter 2011 as a bench player providing depth to all infield positions.

After a terrific 2008 in part-time duty, Fontenot won the starting second-base job in spring training last year and flat-out didn't hit. As a result, he lost the job to midseason acquisition Jeff Baker and will likely have to battle for at-bats again in spring training. On the bright side, Baker is hardly a long-term solution at the position, and Fontenot's decline was in part due to bad BABIP luck (.355 in 2008, .281 in 2009) as his contact rate remained stable. Fontenot has a little pop from the left side and could even wind up in a platoon with Baker, though top shortstop prospect Starlin Castro could force his way into the mix before long, moving Ryan Theriot to second base.

Fontenot had an outstanding year in a utility role, posting a .305/.395/.514 line in 243 at-bats, thanks to a boost in his walk rate and a .355 batting average on balls in play. While Fontenot produced similar numbers in 211 Triple-A at-bats in 2007, he did so as a 27-year-old, i.e., he was not a major prospect. With Mark DeRosa traded to the Indians, Fontenot will vie for the starting second base job with Aaron Miles, but could also see some starts at shortstop as well.

As a 27-year-old rookie, Fontenot came out of the gate on fire last year, but cooled off substantially down the stretch. Fontenot's got a smidgen of power for a middle infielder, and his on-base skills are about average. He's more or less a utility player, backing up Mark DeRosa at second base and seeing starts when DeRosa's forced to fill in at other positions.

Fontenot runs well, has good plate discipline, a little bit of power and knows how to get on base. At press time, he's blocked by Ronny Cedeno, Neifi Perez, Jerry Hairston, Jr. (and yet to be dealt Todd Walker), but he has the skills to merit a major league look by some organization.

Although Fontenot impressed during spring training in 2004 and his numbers at Triple-A Ottawa were decent, he was far from spectacular and his path to the majors is still blocked by Brian Roberts and Jerry Hairston. He should remain Ottawa’s starter at second base in 2005.

Fontenot was named the Orioles' minor league player of the year in 2003 with a nice season at Double-A Bowie. He's a free-swinging second baseman with good extra base power and can run. He'll have the starting 2B job at Triple-A Ottawa.