Michael D. Taylor…graduated from Apopka High School in 2004, earning First Team All-American honors from USA Today and Collegiate Baseball…attended Stanford University where he earned All-Pac-10 honors as a junior in 2007…hit .316 with 21 home runs and 126 RBI in 174 games in three seasons as a Cardinal.
2013
Had two stints with Oakland in 2013 and went 1-for-23 (.043) in nine games…made six starts (three in left field, three in right field)…was recalled for the first time April 13 and was 0-for-6 in three games, including a start in left field April 15 against Houston, before he was optioned to Sacramento April 22…returned May 4 and extended his season-opening hitless streak to 13 at bats before singling in the fifth inning May 9 at Cleveland…that snapped a career-high 0-for-22 streak dating back to May 10, 2012…was optioned back to Sacramento May 14 and spent the remainder of the season with the River Cats…hit .281 with 18 home runs and 85 RBI in 112 games at Triple-A…the home runs and RBI were his best in his four seasons in the A's farm system…ranked sixth in the Pacific Coast League in RBI and tied for eighth in home runs…ranked sixth in the A's farm system in slugging (.474), tied for sixth in RBI, eighth in batting and tied for eighth in home runs…led Sacramento in home runs and ranked second in RBI… batted .309 (102-for-330) with 15 of his 18 home runs, 73 of his 85 RBI and 44 of his 50 walks against right-handed pitching compared to .178 (16-for-90) against left-handers…had a .914 OPS against righties compared to .427 against lefties…hit .308 with 13 of his 18 home runs with runners on base…went 9-for-22 (.409) with two home runs and 26 RBI with the bases loaded…batted .337 with five home runs and 24 RBI in the eighth inning or later…appeared in 81 games in right field, 16 in left field and eight in center field…had nine assists in 103 games overall in the outfield…committed three errors (.987 fielding percentage)…saw his most playing time with 76 games batting fifth in the order.
2012
Played in six games over two stints with Oakland, going 3-for-21 (.143) with one double and no RBI...
was recalled for the first time May 4 and went 3-for-16 (.188) in four starts (one in left field, three in right
field) before he was optioned to Sacramento May 11...returned Aug. 3 and went hitless in five at bats
in two games, including one start in right field, before he was sent back to Sacramento Aug. 5...went
1-for-12 (.083) against left-handed pitching and 2-for-9 (.222) against right-handers...was 0-for-5 with
runners in scoring position...spent the balance of the season at Triple-A Sacramento where he hit .287
with 12 home runs and 67 RBI in 120 games...added 86 walks for a .405 on-base percentage...led the
Pacific Coast League and tied for 10th in all of Minor League Baseball in walks...also ranked eighth in
the PCL in on-base percentage and tied for 10th in runs (81)...ranked second in the A's farm system in
on-base percentage, tied for second in walks, tied for third in doubles (31), fifth in runs and stolen bases
(18), sixth in batting, seventh in RBI, extra base hits (44) and total bases (198), eighth in hits (129) and
10th in slugging (.441)...had minor league career highs in runs, walks and strikeouts (105)...his batting
average was his best in three seasons in the A's organization and his on-base percentage was the second
best mark of his career (.412 in 2008)...reached base safely via hit or walk in 106 of his 120 games...
that included a PCL best streak of 36 consecutive road games from April 10 to July 17...hit .365 with
a .445 on-base percentage during that streak...reached base safely in 23 consecutive home games from
June 27 to Aug. 23 and had a .333 batting average and .495 on-base percentage over that span...hit .293
(98-for-334) against right-handed pitching compared to .270 (31-for-115) against left-handers...had a
better on-base percentage against lefties (.429 vs. .396)...batted .309 with eight of his 12 home runs
and 47 of his 67 RBI on the road...had a .303 batting average from the sixth inning on...hit .320 with
a .416 on-base percentage when leading off an inning...was 5-for-10 (.500) with the bases loaded...
appeared in 107 games in right field and one each in left and center...committed four errors for a .979
fielding percentage...had five assists...also hit .372 in 11 games as the designated hitter...batted .301 in
90 games batting fifth...hit in every spot in the order from second through sixth.
2011
Spent nearly the entire regular season with Triple-A Sacramento before he was promoted to Oakland
when rosters expanded in September...made his Major League debut with the A's and went 6 for 30
(.200) with a home run and RBI in 11 games...went 4-for-19 (.211) with his lone home run against lefthanded
pitching...was 2-for-11 (.182) against right-handers...batted .130 with the bases empty, .429
with runners on...went 2-for-3 (.667) with runners in scoring position...was 1-for-20 (.050) with two
strikes...started seven games in right field and two in left field...also went 0-for-1 as a pinch hitter...
was recalled from Sacramento Sept. 2 and made his ML debut with a start in right field that night against
Seattle...went 0-for-3 with a walk...singled off Blake Wood in the bottom of the ninth inning Sept. 6
against Kansas City for his first big league hit...hit his first ML home run Sept. 20 against Texas, a solo
shot off Derek Holland in the fifth inning...it was also his first RBI...hit .263 (5-for-19) with four walks
over his first seven games...then went 1-for-11 over his final four contests...was rated as the A's ninthbest
prospect by Baseball America following the season.
SACRAMENTO: Batted .272 with 16 home runs and 64 RBI in 93 games with the River Cats...walked
46 times for a .360 on-base percentage...also stole 14 bases...tied for seventh in the A's farm system in
home runs and ranked ninth in slugging (.456)...batted .289 (73-for-253) against right-handed pitching,
compared to .229 (22-for-96) against left-handers...hit .206 at home, compared to .328 with 12 of his 16
home runs and 42 of his 64 RBI on the road...had a .561 slugging percentage on the road...batted .237
with the bases empty, .306 with runners on...hit .319 with runners in scoring position...hit 15 of his 16
home runs at night...appeared in 51 games in left field and 40 in right field...had seven assists but also
committed five errors...also went 5-for-16 (.313) in five games at designated hitter...hit in every spot
in the order except leadoff...saw his most action batting fifth (23 games) and seventh (21)...began the
season on the disabled list with a sprained left wrist...was reinstated May 13 and hit .377 (20 for 53)
over his first 12 games...committed three of his five errors in his first seven games of the season...did
not hit his first home run until his 12th game, May 26 against New Orleans, when he drove in four runs
and matched his season high with three hits...went 7-for-41 (.170) over his next 11 games from May 27
to June 12...had his first two-homer game of the season June 13 at Salt Lake...a three-hit game June 15
at Salt Lake lifted his average to .302 but that was his last day over .300...went 18-for-85 (.212) over his
next 23 games from June 17 to July 15 to drop his average 40 points to .262...hit seven of his 16 home
runs in 21 games in June...then had 22 RBI in 27 games in July, hitting .289 in the month and adding 19
walks for a .411 on-base percentage...went 3-for-3 with a season-high five RBI July 25 against Reno...
homered that day and went deep the following day at Tacoma, the only time he homered in back-to-back
games...had a season-best nine-game hitting streak from Aug. 2-10 (13-for-31, .419) to improve his average to .297...then had a 0-for-25 streak through Aug. 19...had his second two-homer game of the
season Aug. 27 at Fresno...homered in his final game Sept. 1 against Las Vegas before being promoted
to Oakland the next day.
2010
Batted .272 with six home runs and 78 RBI in 127 games for Triple-A Sacramento in his first season in
the Athletics organization...had career highs in runs (79), triples (6), walks (51) and strikeouts (92)...
however, his batting average, home runs and RBI were the lowest of his three full seasons as were his
.392 slugging percentage and .348 on-base percentage...ranked sixth in the A's farm system in RBI,
tied for sixth in triples and was eighth in stolen bases (16)...grounded into 22 double plays, which led
the Pacific Coast League...finished second with the River Cats in RBI and stolen bases and tied for
second in triples...batted .275 (95 for 345) against right-handed pitching and .261 (31 for 119) against
left-handers...compiled a .231 batting average with the bases empty and .310 with runners on, including
.340 with runners in scoring position...was 5 for 10 (.500) with 14 RBI with the bases loaded...hit .223
with two home runs and 32 RBI over the first five innings of a game, .329 with four home runs and 46
RBI in the sixth inning or later...appeared in 95 games in right field, 20 in center field and 12 in left
field...had 12 assists in 120 games overall in the outfield, but also made nine errors for a .961 fielding
percentage...tied for the lead among PCL outfielders in double plays (5) and ranked third in assists...
hit in every spot in the order except first and second and saw his most action with 36 games batting
eighth and 32 hitting fifth...was 0 for 3 as a pinch hitter...ranked 29th on Baseball America's Top 100
Prospects List prior to the start of the season...was tabbed as the A's #10 prospect by the same magazine
following the season...hit .278 with eight doubles, two home runs and 15 RBI in 30 games for Phoenix
in the Arizona Fall League...led the AFL in games and hit by pitches (4).
SACRAMENTO: Had three straight two-hit games to start the season (6 for 12, .500)...stole a seasonhigh
three bases, April 18 against Reno...collected two triples, April 27 at Las Vegas to lift his batting
average to .269 over his first 20 games...then went 8 for 47 (.170) over his next 13 games and was
batting .232 overall when he was placed on the disabled list May 14 with a strained left calf...was
reinstated May 29 and batted .286 with four home runs and 56 RBI over his final 94 games...had his
first of three four-hit games, June 25 at Las Vegas...also had four hits July 15 at Salt Lake and Sept. 4
at Colorado Springs...had a season-best 17-game hitting streak from July 3 to 22...hit .373 (25 for 67)
with 17 runs scored and 19 RBI during the streak...homered and drove in a season high five runs, July
19 at Colorado Springs...finished July with a .324 batting average, two home runs, 24 RBI, 19 runs and
15 walks, all his best single-month figures in 2010...then hit .238 with no home runs and 10 RBI in 30
games in August...scored a run in 10 consecutive games from Aug. 26 to Sept. 4 (14 runs total)...his
batting average was at .259 at the conclusion of play Aug. 26, but he went 16 for 39 (.410) over his final
11 regular season games to finish the year at .272...went 3 for 19 (.158) with a double, home run and
three RBI in five postseason games.
2009
Spent most of the season at Double-A Reading where he was named Eastern League Rookie of the
Year after batting .333 with 15 home runs and 65 RBI in 86 games...was promoted to Triple-A Lehigh
Valley July 16 and hit .282 with five home runs and 19 RBI in 30 games for the IronPigs...combined
for a .320 average, 20 home runs and 84 RBI in 116 games overall...led the Phillies farm system in
batting for the second consecutive season and also ranked second in home runs and third in RBI...had
career highs in triples (5), home runs and stolen bases...was successful in 21 of 26 (80.8%) stolen base
attempts...was also named to the EL Postseason All-Star team and tied for the league lead with seven
intentional walks...batted .338 (101 for 299) against right-handed pitching and .279 (36 for 129) against
left-handers...hit .229 when leading off an inning but had a .359 average with runners on base...including
.356 with runners in scoring position...appeared in 67 games in left field and 38 in right field...also
batted .405 with seven home runs and 22 RBI in 20 games at designated hitter...hit .324 in 88 games
batting in the three spot...was named as Philadelphia's third best prospect by Baseball America following
the season and was honored as the A's second best prospect after being traded to Oakland Dec. 16...
played for Obregon in the Mexican Winter League following the season and hit .308 with a home run
and 11 RBI in 19 games.
2008
Played for the Phillies' two Single-A affiliates at Lakewood and Clearwater and combined to
hit .346 with 39 doubles, 19 home runs and 88 RBI in 132 games...the batting average was third best
among all Single-A hitters and was eighth highest among all full season minor leaguers...also tied for
eighth in the minors in total bases (274) and tied for ninth in hits (170)...led the Phillies farm system in
batting and RBI and tied for second in home runs...batted .366 with 18 of his 19 home runs and 71 of
his 88 RBI against right-handed pitching compared to .278 against left-handers...appeared in 92 games
in left field and 26 in right field and had 18 assists...also hit .386 (27 for 70) with five home runs and
14 RBI in 21 games at designated hitter...hit clean-up 75 times and third 37 times...began the season
at Lakewood and batted .395 on the road for the BlueClaws...hit safely in 27 consecutive road games
from April 24 to June 20...earned Phillies Minor League Player of the Month honors after hitting .354
in April...followed that up by batting .363 with seven home runs and 31 RBI in 27 games in May...
was named South Atlantic League Player of the Week for the week of May 5-11...homered in all four
of his games that week and batted .421 (8 for 19) with four home runs and 12 RBI...named to the SAL
Midseason All-Star team but did not play in the game as he was promoted to Clearwater June 19...was
leading the SAL in batting (.361) at the time of his promotion...had a season best 14-game hitting streak
from June 5 to 20 (.380)...belted a grand slam, July 1 against Lakeland...hit safely in 11 consecutive
games from Aug. 5 to 17 and batted .581 (25 for 43) with 11 doubles, three home runs, nine RBI and
10 multiple hit games during the streak...homered twice against Lakeland, Aug. 13...named Phillies
Minor League Player of the Month for a second time in August after hitting .376 with 17 doubles, six
home runs and 19 RBI in 28 games...played for Honolulu in the Hawaiian Winter League and hit .247
with two home runs and 10 RBI in 25 games...was named as the Phillies sixth best prospect by Baseball
America following the season.
2007
Made his professional debut with Single-A Williamsport and batted .227 with six home runs and
33 RBI in 66 games...tied for the New York-Penn League lead with 10 grounded into double plays...
combined for a .179 batting average, two home runs and 17 RBI in 34 games in June and July and then
hit .322 with four home runs and 14 RBI in 25 games in August...appeared in 47 games in left field and
13 in right field...had his first career two homer game and drove in five runs, July 1 at Jamestown...
was named NYPL Batter of the Week for the week of Aug. 13-19 after going 8 for 14 (.571) with two
doubles, two home runs and four RBI in four games.
