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2007 Olivo has always had a bit of power, but, when the Baseball Fairy was handing out talent, she neglected to give little Miggy the ability to tell a ball from a strike from a duckbilled platypus. In 2006, Oliva became just one of a dozen players in the last half-century to come to the plate 400 or more times and failed to draw ten walks. Four of Oliva`s nine walks were intentional, giving him an unintentional walk rate of one every 90.4 plate appearances. That`s not quite as bad as Alfredo Griffin`s 1984 (4 UIBB in 441 PA, or 110.3 UIBB/PA) or the immortal Whitey Alperman`s two walks in 442 PA for the 1909 Dodgers, but it`s still special. Olivo also seemed to fall victim to late-season LoDuca-itis, as he had a dreadful final two months. Without any secondary skills, he`s not a good bet to build on his 2006 numbers. His nickname should be `Extra-Virgin.` 2006 A deft pickup at the trade deadline, Olivo looked like the player the Mariners were so happy to get in the Freddy Garcia trade down the stretch, making it all the stranger that the Padres didn`t offer him a contract for 2006. He`s agile behind the plate, has a whip for an arm, and he runs well for a catcher. The Marlins should have a cheap, intriguing catching combo in Olivo and Josh Willingham. 2005 A couple pitches each game sail past Olivo, who watches them with a curious expression on his face, as if surprised by the flying ball. Olivo does have an arm, and a little power. At 25, he was too old to blame all his problems on bad instruction. Nonetheless, PECOTA sees better times ahead. 2003 The Sox are high on Olivo, who was the prize Kenny Williams got from Oakland in exchange for Chad Bradford. With the trade of Mark Johnson and the limp bat of Josh Paul, Olivo has next to nothing to hold him back. Olivo has a flashy arm but isn’t otherwise known for his defense, so an Olivo/Paul offense/defense combo could be in the making, especially after they get the bones of Sandy Alomar out of the way. 2002 Olivo came over from the A's for Chad Bradford in what looked like a great trade for both teams. 2001 was a lost season, though: he regressed defensively, didn't hit, and questions about his attitude persisted. He bounced back to have a great season in the Arizona Fall League and should get at least a cup of coffee in Chicago this year. 2001 Miguel Olivo might be the best-throwing catcher in the minors, and he’s a good receiver and plate-blocker as well. He’s also a very impatient hitter, and there are some concerns about his attitude. For the second straight year, he lost time to injury, this time a broken hamate bone. He’s been traded to the White Sox for Chad Bradford; while he may need another year in A ball, he’s Chicago’s best catching prospect. 2000 Another product of the A's peerless Dominican program, this was his first year in a full-season league after starring in both the Dominican and Arizona rookie leagues. Behind the plate, he's shown a good arm and great receiving and plate-blocking skills. He still needs to pick up English to improve his work with pitchers, and he needs to work on his command of the strike zone, but he already has good power. It will be a couple of years before he's ready.
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