Taylor Teagarden

[majorleaguebrian88]

So i'm not very knowledgeable in the prospects department so im gonna ask you guys what you think of him. Do you guys think this guy is for real or was it simply just a hot start to his major league career?

[nate128]

Well, i'm personally a very big fan of Teagarden. Probably the best thing to know about him is that he is very good defensively, so there will never be worries about him moving out from behind the plate. Another thing that should speak about his abilities is that Texas does not want to move him unless they get a premium pitching prospect in return.

As far as projecting what he is going to do next season and beyond is a little more difficult. He obviously has power, and i'd say if he has 400 ABs next season you can expect 20 HRs as a baseline. The average is a bit harder to predict...he has hit around .300 in most of his minor league seasons, but last year he seemed to fall apart in the minors. Of course he came up to the majors and turned the baseball into mashed potatoes. Can he carry the average and power into the majors next season? I'd say a .285 average would be solid prediction from him.

As far as career, if he puts it together with the bat he can be a .290-.300 average with 25-35 home runs annually. Obviously playing your home games in Texas is going to help your HR totals. Only thing i'd be worried about is him not starting behind the dish. The main competitor for him is Saltalamacchia, and many people feel that one of them will win the job in ST and the other will go back to AAA to start the season. I'm really praying that Salty gets traded so both can start and begin putting their careers together.

[J35J]

He's a bit overrated, IMO. He's got legit power but if given 400+ ABs I'd be suprised if he can maintain a .270 avg in the bigs.

See Mike Napoli or Kelly Shoppach.

[Havok1517]

I think he's a future All-Star catcher. I seem to envision him as a Charles Johnson type player.

[BigLebowski]

I like the power, but as others have stated, that .250 average is likely to take away from some of his fantasy appeal.

[nate128]

From catcher? I think anyone would be satisfied with a 25-30 HR season with a .250 average from the catcher position....

[MaudDib]

From catcher? I think anyone would be satisfied with a 25-30 HR season with a .250 average from the catcher position....

I don't see 25 HR. There is usually a reason you don't see that from a C. Either he won't get enough at bats or he will wear down as the season progresses. Be happy if he gets around 20. Of course I am also not high on him. And unless one of them gets traded you can't be sure of playing time.

[cardinal1975]

I think with Teagarden we are looking more at a gold glove caliber catcher who hits a bit better than average. Probably more valuable in real life than in fantasy. I think he is more of a .270-.280ish hitter with 12-18 homerun power. He will be a solid offensive catcher but he is already 25 and won't get much better at the plate than he happens to be now.

[majorleaguebrian88]

a guy in my league offered me Teagarden for Sean West and Yamico Navarro..My MLB catcher is Ramon Hernandez and my other minors catchers are Lou Marson and Exposito. Should I pull the deal?

[Havok1517]

a guy in my league offered me Teagarden for Sean West and Yamico Navarro..My MLB catcher is Ramon Hernandez and my other minors catchers are Lou Marson and Exposito. Should I pull the deal?

nien