Taylor Teagarden

Teagarden draws praise as a good defensive catcher and he backed it up by going error free with one passed ball in 21 games behind the plate in 2012. Though a couple of his nine hits on the season were timely, Teagarden offers dismal hitting numbers. In the last three years, Teagarden's OPS is well below .600 and he struck out in 43.2 percent of his at-bats. The Orioles appear set to roll with Teagarden backing up Matt Wieters once again in 2013.

Teagarden shuttled back and forth from Triple-A Round Rock and the majors again in 2011, and was dealt in the winter to Baltimore where he's expected to serve as the backup to Matt Wieters. Teagarden managed to hit 12 homers in 151 at-bats in the minors, though he has a long history of not hitting against advanced pitching to get too excited about any moderate power he showed.

Teagarden flashed occasional power but little else in his brief time as Texas' backup catcher when Matt Treanor was sidelined with a knee injury, swatting four homers in 71 at-bats but failing to hit otherwise. His minor-league season (.230/.318/.350) mirrored his major-league struggles, minus the occasional power. Once thought to be a member of a pretty good catching situation with Texas, he enters 2011 well behind both Yorvit Torrealba and Matt Treanor on the team's catching depth chart.

Teagarden's roller coaster in his brief pro career continued in 2009, as he failed to hit (.217/.270/.374 in 198 at-bats) in a backup role for the Rangers. There's nothing, save for a 59 at-bat stretch with Texas in September last year, in the past two seasons to suggest Teagarden will be able to hit well enough to hold down a regular job despite a strong defensive reputation. Texas is actively pursuing catching this offseason, which could result in Teagarden getting regular at-bats at Triple-A Oklahoma City to start the season.

Teagarden was "promoted" from Double-A Frisco after a brutal start (.169/.279/.305 in 59 at-bats) and didn't hit much at Triple-A Oklahoma City either (.225/.332/.396 with 59 Ks in 187 at-bats). He was promoted to the majors in September, received regular playing time with the injury to Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and hit an impressive .319/.396/.809 in 47-bats with 11 of his 15 hits going for extra bases. Picking out the trends from the noise only gets more complicated when you take into consideration his 2007 composite line in the minors (.310/.426/.586 in 394 at-bats). He has a strong defensive reputation, and he should be a part-time catcher at a minimum following the trade of Gerald Laird to Detroit.

Teagarden responded with a big 2007 after essentially missing all of 2006 with a torn elbow ligament. He blew through High-A Bakersfield (.315/.448/.606, 65 walks in 292 at-bats) before a nice debut at Double-A Frisco (.294/.357/.529, 10 walks in 102 at-bats). He's already 24, but he should see some time at Triple-A Oklahoma City during the second half of the 2008 season. Keeping Jarrod Saltalamacchia behind the plate for another year or two will reduce to need to rush Teagarden to the majors.