Mark Teixeira: Home Runs or Bust

Apr 24, 2015; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira (25) hits a two-run home run against the New York Mets during the third inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Yankees lineup has a little bit of everything. They got speed, on-base guys and obviously the power guys. If the pitching can hold up, the Yankees can be a dominant force once again in the American League. However, one player that needs to improve at the plate is Mark Teixeira. His performance this season as been home run or bust and that can hurt fantasy owners. 

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Teixeira is on the decline after playing 12 years in the league. His best years came with the Texas Rangers in the 2005 and 2006 seaons. He did have a great year in 2009 with the Yankees. Now, his numbers aren’t what they were. That’s to be expected, but fantasy owners expect a lot more out of their players. He had a .281 and .301 average in 2005 and 2006, respectively. He had a .216 average in 126 games last season.

Teixeira was and is still crushing home runs, though. He had 22 homers and 62 RBI last season. This year, after 16 games, he has seven home runs and 17 RBI, but owns a .218 average.

Those numbers are good in Roto leagues and can help you win the HR/RBI categories in head-to-head leagues. If you use batting average, then Teixeira may be your worst nightmare. If you play in an OBP or OPS league, then Teixeira is given a pass. Tex ranks second on the Yankees and eighth and 13th in the league in SLG and OPS, .673 and 1.006, respectively.

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Teixeira currently sits at No. 8 on ESPN’s Player Rater (a tracker that calculates everything a player does on offense or on the mound). If you are in need of a power source, Teixeira is still available in a lot of leagues, 48 percent of ESPN leagues.

If you do pick up Tex, know that he is just a home-run guy. He will very rarely steal a base, three in the last 3+ seasons. He can get on base, but strikes out a lot, too. He has 11 walks and 11 strikeouts so far. I drafted Tex in the 22nd round of my draft as a backup first baseman or corner infielder, but he’s become one of my best hitters.

I would strike while the iron is hot and then trade him before it’s too late.