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Yankees Player of the Week: 6/8-6/14 Edition

In a week that saw the Yankees have two off-days, a rare occurrence during the MLB season, Mark Teixeira proved to be the biggest contributor to the Yankees two wins over the five games played since Monday. In his 17 at-bats, Teixeira had 8 base hits, 3 of which were of the extra base variety. He walked 3 times, scored 3 runs, and knocked in 2 runs. Prior to Monday, Teixeira was hitting .237 on the season, with a .348 OBP. With his 8 hits, and 3 walks, he was able to increase his batting average to .256 and his OBP to .370.

I am not sure if it’s the change in his diet, or the new hitting coaches, but Teixeira’s approach at the plate has changed dramatically compared to the past few years. While his batting average might not show it, he’s had much better swings on balls on the outer half of the plate. Below are his spray charts for batted balls in 2014 and 2015 against right-handed pitching. He’s still a pull-hitter from the left side of the plate, but he’s not getting beat as much on the outer half. Instead of rolling over the pitches on the outside corner, Tex is making solid contact to the left side. We are a little less than halfway through the season, and against RHP, Teixeira has 3 home runs to left field compared to only 1 in 123 games in 2014.

2014

Source: FanGraphs

2015

Source: FanGraphs