Fantasy Baseball 2013: NY Yankees Hitting & Pitching Projections
Teixeira and Cano will need to be great 2013.
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New York Yankees – Predicted Finish: Fourth Place, AL East
The Yankees had another great year in 2012, but suddenly looked very ordinary in the playoffs. Actually, they looked old. The injury bug seems to have rocked this team already.
So, at times this year, the Yankees will have a different look than we’ve seen for the past decade (or even more in some cases). What does that all mean? Well, their team’s players aren’t likely going to be as valuable top to bottom, as you have to factor in missed games for many of them.
But, let’s take a closer look at things.
Yankees Offense
| Player Name | Pos. | Age | Hand | AB | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG. |
| Derek Jeter | SS | 39 | R | 570 | 85 | 8 | 42 | 6 | .298 |
| Ichiro Suzuki | RF | 39 | L | 625 | 84 | 9 | 61 | 25 | .282 |
| Robinson Cano | 2B | 30 | L | 625 | 102 | 27 | 108 | 4 | .317 |
| Mark Teixeira | 1B | 33 | S | 550 | 89 | 31 | 92 | 3 | .254 |
| Curtis Granderson | CF | 32 | L | 590 | 83 | 37 | 110 | 15 | .247 |
| Kevin Youkilis | 3B | 34 | R | 440 | 71 | 16 | 74 | 0 | .255 |
| Alex Rodriguez | DH | 37 | R | 275 | 30 | 10 | 46 | 2 | .265 |
| Brett Gardner | LF | 29 | L | 490 | 81 | 7 | 41 | 41 | .269 |
| Francisco Cervelli | C | 27 | R | 315 | 39 | 3 | 39 | 3 | .263 |
Crackerjack Fantasy Options: I’ll save some time and say that everyone in that lineup except for Cervelli has decent fantasy value. You’ll have to wait for Rodriguez (which I wouldn’t do) and I’m not even sure if Youk is aware that a baseball season lasts 162 games, but a case could be made to roster either of of them in deeper leagues, or if your regular third baseman gets hurt and either are healthy.
The rest of them, Jeter, Suzuki, Cano, Teixeira, Granderson, and Gardner will all rank with the league’s best players in at least one category.
Yankees Pitching:
| Role | Player | Age | Hand | IP | BB | W | K | SV | ERA | WHIP |
| 1 Starter | CC Sabathia | 32 | L | 225 | 72 | 18 | 215 | 0 | 3.20 | 1.19 |
| 2 Starter | Hiroki Kuroda | 38 | R | 205 | 52 | 14 | 155 | 0 | 3.42 | 1.17 |
| 3 Starter | Andy Pettitte | 41 | L | 145 | 40 | 11 | 110 | 0 | 4.03 | 1.30 |
| 4 Starter | Ivan Nova | 26 | R | 180 | 59 | 13 | 155 | 0 | 4.30 | 1.34 |
| 5 Starter | Phil Hughes | 27 | R | 177 | 55 | 12 | 146 | 0 | 4.58 | 1.27 |
| Closer | Mariano Rivera | 43 | R | 55 | 6 | 2 | 51 | 31 | 2.78 | 0.98 |
Crackerjack Fantasy Options: Everyone listed has some fantasy value. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t be here. But the big plays are Sabathia, Kuroda, and Rivera. Pettitte, Nova, and Hughes will probably get some wins, but I’d only use them for spot starts. The Yankees had a middle of the road bullpen last year, are losing Rafael Soriano, and the hitters that have provided that great run support over the years are old and beaten up. I just don’t trust their second-tier pitchers for a full season of quality fantasy value although again, any Yankee is good for a short-term fix.
Fantasy Star: Cano
This team has several players who have good to great fantasy value, but Cano gets the nod here for a few reasons
- He plays second base.
- Age and injuries aren’t a concern in the way that they are with almost every other teammate. The few others that aren’t old yet all have glaring holes in some categories.
- He’s been one of the best fantasy players at any position for several years now.
- That park is a left-handed power hitters dream. Cano is a left-handed power hitter.
Fantasy Bust: Mark Teixeira
I’ve covered A-Rod, while Nash has given his take on Youkilis, but the name that I keep coming back to is Mark Teixeira.
Make no mistake, Teix will get his homers, but his cumulative average over the last three years has been just over .250 and not headed in the right direction. At the first base position, I just don’t see enough overall value to believe that anyone should go hard after him.
Fantasy Sleepers: Eduardo Nunez, Brett Gardner
When you consider that the Yankees are an American League team that of courses uses the DH, Eduardo Nunez will likely get plenty of at-bats. A-Rod is out until at least June (I put him in there because he should still get more ABs than anyone there this year), Youkilis is injury prone, and Jeter is coming off of a big injury. Nunez should see plenty of at-bats.
But my big sleeper is Gardener, who is a stolen base machine. Also, whether he bats at the top of the order or the bottom (which is a wraparound spot in the AL), he’ll be a good bet to score a lot of runs. He’s not a great overall hitter, but not bad. There are only a few guys like Mike Trout, who steal bases and also hit for a great average. A high steals guy going over .250 is a pretty decent guy for your fantasy team. As you can see, I expect that from him.
More American League East Previews