A’s prospect Taylor hits Vegas after all

Right fielder Michael Taylor was one of three prized prospects the Toronto Blue Jays received late last year when they traded former Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay to the Philadelphia Phillies.

For a moment, the 6-foot-6-inch, 260-pound Taylor appeared destined to play with Las Vegas this season.

But about 30 minutes after the blockbuster deal was done, he was flipped to the Oakland Athletics for first baseman Brett Wallace -- who hit his Pacific Coast League-leading eighth home run in the 51s'
6-5 loss to Taylor's Sacramento River Cats on Monday at Cashman Field.

"There's no doubt, Wallace is a great player. He's going to be a good one, too," Sacramento manager Tony DeFrancesco said before the game. "We were looking for some power outfielders. We don't have that in the system.

"They're hoping (Taylor) can play out there for a few years."

Taylor, 24, said he was honored to be involved in the two trades.

The former Stanford star said he was impressed with Wallace, a former Arizona State star, when they played each other in college.

"I got to watch him up close and personally in the Pac-10," Taylor said. "I know how special a player he is and what kind of bat he has. He's a great hitter."

Taylor isn't too bad himself. He is rated Oakland's second-best prospect behind Sierra Vista High School graduate Chris Carter, who cracked his fourth homer of the season Monday.

Philadelphia's fifth-round draft pick in 2007, Taylor led all Phillies minor leaguers in batting for the second straight season last year with a .320 average, was second in home runs (20), third in RBIs (84) and had 28 doubles, five triples and 21 stolen bases in 116 games at Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

This season, Taylor is batting .247 (18-for-73) with five doubles, two triples, one home run, three steals and 10 RBIs in 19 games with Sacramento.

He went 0-for-4 with an RBI fielder's choice and scored a run Monday.

"His bat will probably be his best asset. He's a solid outfielder, he runs decent, and his arm is average," DeFrancesco said. "He does have some tools. I don't think he'll be a 30-30 guy, but he should get enough doubles and line drives to have some success in the major leagues."

Based on their stature and statistics, Taylor and Carter might appear to be the second coming of the "Bash Brothers," former A's sluggers Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco. But the affable, articulate Taylor said appearances can be deceiving.

"(Carter) is a prototypical power guy with some of the best pop I've ever seen. But that's not necessarily my game," he said. "People have always said I'm pretty much a contact hitter, and if I get the ball up it will go out of the ballpark.''

n NOTE -- Las Vegas placed outfielder Jorge Padilla on the disabled list and activated outfielder Aaron Mathews, who homered.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354.