| Mark Teixeira
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RotoWire News: Teixeira went 1-for-3 with a walk-off grand slam in a 5-3 victory over the Red Sox on Wednesday. (9/28/2016)
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Year in Review: Teixeira was brought in by the Yankees last winter on an eight-year, $180 million deal, and did everything he could to live up to the salary. The big switch-hitter posted a .948 OPS over 609 at-bats, which ranked among the top-10 marks in baseball for 2009. He also knocked 39 home runs and dipped his strikeout rate to 11.5%, totals that rank second only to his breakout season of 2005. Teixeira is locked in and loving the friendly confines of new Yankee Stadium. He had a batting line of .312/.387/.627 (1.014 OPS) at home last season and, so far as we know, the Yanks aren't considering moving anytime soon. At the ripe age of 30, and with little-to-no past medical issues, he has several years left to match or improve on his gaudy 2009 stats.
The Year Ahead: The picture of consistency when it comes to power numbers, Teixeira should be trusted among the first batch of draft picks in nearly every fantasy league. He has excellent hitters both ahead and behind him in the Bronx Bombers' lineup, so his RBI and runs scored totals should remain steadily impressive. He also has the pleasure of playing in one of the most homer-friendly ballparks for 81 games out of the year. Tex has never had a problem going yard, and he won't as long as Yankee Stadium's dimensions go unchanged. He was also the victim of a bit of bad luck last season with a four-year low BABIP of .305, which suggests we can reasonably expect a fair amount of improvement, especially in batting average. (Drew Silva) |
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Profile: Teixeira is known to start his season at a snail’s pace, and pick it up as the year moves along. Well, Teixeira did struggle out of the gate this season, but he didn't exactly pick up the pace after April was ripped from his desk calender. Teixeira eventually got his power stroke back, and hit at least 30 homers for the seventh straight season. His average never got out of the doldrums, but a lot of that was thanks to his .268 BABIP, which is bound to improve next season. Teixeira isn’t exactly an old man, but he will be 31 years old at the start of this season. He stills does a good job of making contact and drawing walks, and, as long as he can hit 30-plus dingers, he’s a very good option to start on your roster. As an added bonus, assuming the Yankees’ lineup does not cease to be productive, Teix will have plenty of RBI chances and should cross the plate at least 100 times. (Zach Sanders)
The Quick Opinion: Teixeira continued his annual tradition of starting slow, but found his power stroke as the season progressed. While his average never rose to the equation, Teix will still be a top-10 1B in 2011. |
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Profile: Have you seen Tex’s batting average? Over the past four years, Teixeira’s average has tumbled from .308 to .292, .256 and just .248 in 2011. His batting average on balls in play has gone from .316 to .239. While his patience and power remain intact (an 11.1 percent walk rate and 39 homers), Teixeira’s drop in average has taken him from a best-in-baseball-type bat (a .410 wOBA in 2008) to merely good (.361 in 2011). The vast majority of the switch-hitter’s BABIP decline has come from the left side of the plate (from .314 in 2008 to .222 in 2011). Texieria has hit more pop-ups and fly balls in recent years, both of which harm a hitter’s BABIP, but nothing even close to suggesting a 90 point drop off. His career BABIP is .296, and Bill James projects a .281 mark in 2012, so you have to think he’ll at least crack a .260-.270 average next year instead of sitting in the low-.200s. (David Golebiewski)
The Quick Opinion: Teixeira turns 32 in April, and his days as a top-level first baseman may be on the wane. Even so, he’d be plenty useful if he can rebound to a .270/.370/.520-type level. |
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Profile: The 2012 season was a forgettable one for Yankees’ first baseman Mark Teixeira. He was hampered by injuries early and late in the season allowing him to appear in just 123 games — the fewest of his career.He failed to produce 30 or more homers and 100 or more RBIs for the first time since 2003 and finished with career lows in runs, home runs, RBIs and his second lowest batting average as a big leaguer — .251. Given his age (33), it seems folly to expect more health from him, and his batting average on balls in play has held steady at mediocre rates for three years now, so it doesn't seem like the batting average is coming back either. He may be a decent value target in the middle rounds for some production in the power categories, but that’s just as long as your team absorb the hit in batting average. (Alan Harrison)
The Quick Opinion: Ol' Mark Teixeira ain't what he used to be, ain't what he used to be. Gone are the heady batting averages and seven-hundred-plate-appearance seasons. Still there is the power, though, which might make him an undervalued play later in drafts. |
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Profile: It was a lost season for Teixeira, who sustained a wrist injury while training for the World Baseball Classic. Rather than undergoing surgery right away, he decided to rest and allow the tendon to heal. When he came back in June, all Teixeira could muster was 63 at-bats before re-injuring his wrist and undergoing season-ending surgery. His .161 batting average and three homeruns should be thrown out because he was playing hurt and never really got going. However, it would be foolish to expect him to return to his pre-2012 type of production. He will be 34 years old in April and is coming off of two consecutive injury-marred seasons. Before the injuries started piling up, Teixeira's batting average and on-base percentage were in consistent decline over the course of his tenure with the Yankees. With all of the question marks surrounding the Yankees' this offseason, Teixeira will need to stay healthy and anchor their lineup. Maybe his cost has dropped enough to make him a value in your league. (Michael A. Stein)
The Quick Opinion: Teixeira could be a sleeper in 2014 because there are so many questions about his health and his declining numbers over the past several seasons. If he stays healthy, he should hit 25 home runs and drive in 100 runs. But he is a .250 hitter now and there is no denying it anymore. |
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Profile: A hamstring injury, a back injury, a thumb injury, a knee injury, a groin injury … another year, another spate of health setbacks for the first baseman, who missed all but 15 games of 2013 due to a wrist issue. Credit Teixeira for playing through the pain, however; he was placed on the disabled list only once, due to a hamstring strain, and managed to play in 123 games. But it’s clear the injuries took their toll on him as the season went on: his weighted on-base average dropped every month, and his offensive output in the second half was 38% below league average. Meanwhile, Teixeira, who will be 35 in mid-April, batted an ugly .216, swung at pitches outside the strike zone more frequently than he ever had before in his career, and finished with his highest ground-ball-to-fly-ball ratio (1.11) since 2008. Still, he had 22 home runs, his percentage of fly balls that left the yard was on par with his career norm, and for a guy who loves hitting at Yankee Stadium (career .880 on-base plus slugging percentage there), he can still provide fantasy owners with some pop — when, of course, he’s able to stay on the field. (Karl de Vries)
The Quick Opinion: Teixeira still has the ability to be useful in fantasy, but his chronic health issues should prevent him from being drafted as a starting first baseman in anything but AL-only leagues. |
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Profile: After a down year in 2014, Mark Teixeira seemed to be on the way to a solid rebound last year. The veteran slugger flashed plenty of power and was named to the All-Star team for the first time since '09, but he fouled a ball off his leg in August and eventually ended his season early because of the resulting bone bruise. Overall, the Maryland native hit .255/.357/.548 with 31 homers in 111 games and 462 trips to the plate, good for a 147 park and league adjusted OPS that was his highest mark since '08. Teixeira was especially patient at the plate, as his 12.8% walk rate was his best mark since '10 and his 18.4% strikeout rate his lowest since '12. However, his remarkable 23.5% home run per fly ball rate was not only easily a career high but is surely likely to regress towards his lifetime 18.3% mark. Additionally, Teixeira certainly seems to have slipped a bit on defense after a long held reputation for stellar glove work. Even if that wasn't just a one year blip, his powerful bat should no doubt to continue to keep him in the lineup as long as he is healthy. Teixeira will turn 36 in April and may have played a bit over his head last year, but there is clearly still plenty of power potential for fantasy owners to tap into -- especially with Greg Bird taking the year off with his labrum injury. (Dylan Higgins)
The Quick Opinion: Teixeira showed he still had plenty left in the tank last year, but he was eventually shelved due to injury and has not played in more than 123 games since 2011. The veteran slugger is still a fantasy asset in all formats due to his power, but his average is uninspiring nowadays and he can't be expected to stay in the lineup all year. |
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