Mark Teahen Stats & Scouting Report

AB	2873
AVG	.264
OBP	.327
SLG	.409
HR	67

Full name Mark Thomas Teahen
Born 09/06/1981 in Redlands, CA
Profile Ht.: 6'3" / Wt.: 230 / Bats: L / Throws: R
School Saint Mary's (CA)
Debut 04/04/2005
Drafted in the 1st round (39th overall) by the Oakland Athletics in 2002 (signed for $725,000).

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Teahen was a high school shortstop and spent his freshman year at St. Mary's at second base. He grew to 6-foot-3, 215 pounds and moved to third base. A contact hitter with a fluid stroke, Teahen hit .369-1-36 as a sophomore and raised his average to .405 as a junior with six home runs. He's been content to take pitches the other way and could develop more power as he learns which pitches to pull and drive. For now, his power is a concern. Known as a hard worker, he has a strong arm and an outstanding glove. He reminds some scouts of Cubs third baseman Bill Mueller and projects to go in the third or fourth round.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

Part of the "Moneyball" draft class, Teahen helped the Athletics get Octavio Dotel in a three-way deal that sent Carlos Beltran to Houston and Teahen, John Buck and Mike Wood to Kansas City. Teahen has a good grasp of the strike zone, uses the whole field and makes consistent, hard contact. His instincts, range and accurate arm led managers to rate him the best defensive third baseman in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. Teahen has yet to demonstrate the power desired from a corner infielder. While in the Arizona Fall League, he worked on incorporating his legs more into his swing and picking out pitches to pull, rather than simply serving balls into left field. Teahen is Kansas City's safest bet to become a solid major leaguer. He could open the season as the everyday third baseman, or free-agent signee Chris Truby could serve as a stopgap as Teahen gains more Triple-A seasoning during the first half.
In "Moneyball," scouting director Eric Kubota said, "I hate to say it, but if you want to talk about another Jason Giambi, this guy could be it." Teahen hasn't lived up to that assessment yet, but the biggest excitement generated in instructional league camp came when he began driving the ball. Suddenly the tall third baseman went from power-deprived to potentially powerful, a major leap forward. Teahen had shown line-drive hitting ability but not the pop required of a third baseman. In instructional league, the A's got him to incorporate his legs more in his swing and to pull pitches more often. He has good plate discipline and exceptional hand-eye coordination, though he needs to make more contact. Defensively, Teahen is a solid third baseman with average speed and a plus arm for the position. The hope is that the lessons he learned in instructional league will carry over this year in Double-A.
One of Oakland's seven-first round picks in the 2002 draft, Teahen hit .404 at short-season Vancouver before finding high Class A more challenging. Pitchers learned to jam him inside, but he worked hard on making adjustments during instructional league and showed distinct improvement. He's a polished hitter who uses the opposite field well. He has always hit for average and shown outstanding hand-eye coordination, and the A's expect that will continue. The rap against him in college was his failure to consistently hit for power, but Oakland believes he'll show more pop as he learns to turn on pitches. He has average speed and good baseball instincts. An outstanding defender at third base, he has good hands and a strong arm. He reminds a lot of scouts of Bill Mueller, though the A's hope he'll have more home run power. Teahen should be better prepared for the California League in 2003.

Minor League Top Prospects

Midland's roster was full of the cast of players from the Athletics' infamous 2002 "Moneyball" draft class. Through no fault of their own, players such as catchers John Baker and Jeremy Brown, first baseman Brent Colamarino, infielders Mark Kiger and John McCurdy, outfielder Steve Stanley and pitchers Ben Fritz and Steve Obenchain, will be under a microscope as fans of the book and industry types watch their progress. In 2004, Teahen, a supplemental first-round pick, was the clear choice of the "Moneyball" group among TL managers and scouts, and only Baker was given any support for the Top 20 among the rest of the group. Teahen, traded at midseason to the Royals in a three-team deal, impressed managers with a line-drive stroke to all fields and solid defensive skills at third. The biggest question with Teahen will be his power. In "Moneyball," the organization compared his power potential to Jason Giambi, who had a similar body coming out of Long Beach State in the early 1990s. Few in the TL saw that happening. "He was probably the best third baseman in the league," Ireland said. "He's athletic, strong and has good size. He's got the whole package as a guy who can hit and plays good defense at third, but he's a line-drive guy. He will hit some home runs, but he's more gap-to-gap for me."