Michael Young

The Rangers spent $17 million for the worst regular in baseball, as Young was terrible in 2012 after hitting .338 in 2011. He was anemic against righties (.257/.291/.352) and passable against lefties, but that didn't stop Ron Washington from handing him 600 at-bats. Fortunately for the Rangers, they were able to find a taker in the Phillies in a December trade. As the regular third baseman in Philadelphia, he'll get decent counting stats, but is eligible only at the corner-infield spots in most formats (16 games at second base), and should get discounted severely in leagues that reward on-base or slugging percentage.

Young got some misplaced MVP support despite being the third most valuable infielder on his own team, but it was a nice rebound season for Young who demanded a trade last winter after Texas' signing of Adrian Beltre. Young cut way back on his strikeouts, leading to a .338 average, but saw his power all but evaporate (including just three homers after the All-Star break despite a .357 average). He's miscast as cleanup hitter, but that's not likely to change without a big addition to the Texas lineup via free agency, and he doesn't provide any sort of value defensively despite being used all over the infield. Young will likely just be corner-infield eligible in most leagues (14 appearances at second base), making any sort of a decline to a .280/15/80 guy a pretty big hit at a power position. His health and placement in the Texas lineup should prevent massive erosion, however.

Young's 2010 season was a sharp decline from 2009's bounce-back season, and there were rumors of Texas shopping him this winter to get out from under a contract that still calls for three years and about $50 million. He benefited from staying healthy in a solid lineup in a good ballpark, driving in 91 runs and scoring 99 times despite a poor .284/.330/.444 line. No longer middle-infield eligible, Young's second-half fade (.262/.302/.401) makes for a poor fit at third base.

Young began the season requesting a trade in early January after Texas basically told him he was moving to third base to make room for Elvis Andrus. Those demands (or the team's failure to get a legitimate offer) soon ended the controversy, and Young enjoyed his best season since 2005. He battled some injuries, limiting him to 135 games and keeping him under 200 hits for the second straight year, but the 22 homers and .518 slugging reversed a three-year decline. There's obvious risk expecting a repeat season at age 33 given the three seasons preceding 2009, and he's no longer shortstop eligible, so be careful thinking that it's 2005 again.

Young played through a fractured finger for much of the second half, and he failed to collect 200 hits for the first time since 2002. The decline has likely began in earnest (OPS has gone .817-.783-.741 the past three years), and it's readily apparent that 2005 was his peak. Unfortunately for Texas, Young's paycheck demands 2005's numbers, and they simply aren't there anymore. A .300-15-90 season at shortstop still has plenty of value in roto ball, but there are a bunch of signs pointing in the wrong direction if you're hoping for a big rebound.

Young started slowly, but managed to hit .332/.384/.431 in his final 139 games to salvage his season. The power he showed a few years back has regressed, however, and his batting eye has followed suit. He's a likely candidate to rebound a bit, especially his power and run production, and he'll continue to have some value given his home park. Just don't bid expecting 2005 again.

Young dipped a bit in 2006, failing to top 20 HR for the first time since 2003. He cranked out 200-plus hits for the fourth straight year, however, and the .314 mark was the second highest of his career. He's pretty consistent year-to-year and is a good bet to return to his .315-20-100 ways.

Young hit better than .330 at home for the third straight season, but his .330/.384/.500 line away from Ameriquest was just as impressive. The power spike is going to stick, given his improved eye at the plate, and he's remarkably consistent. Young managed to drive in 75 runs in 136 games from the two-spot in the Texas order, though that number could decrease with David Dellucci's deal with the devil having expired.

Last season Young cut down the strikeouts, boosted the walks and continued to murder pitching at home (.346 in 2004, .353 in 2003). His road numbers improved a good bit and the season totals reflect that. The power spike was accompanied by attaining a better batting eye, so there's good reason to think it will stick. He split time hitting in each of the top three spots in the order, so watch his value in 4 x 4 leagues if it looks like he'll hit leadoff more often in 2005 (those 99 RBI would disappear pretty quickly).

Young hit .353 at home, and *slugged* .367 on the road; the source of Young's improvement overall is pretty apparent. There was a pretty dramatic improvement against RHP as well (.779 OPS in 2003 compared to .677 and .659 the previous two years). In addition to the massive home/road split, Young's walk rate dipped a bit as well, so expecting him to improve on 2003 isn't a wise move.

Young is not going to hit well enough to help a contender, which is partly why Texas is considering moving Hank Blalock to second base. The leadoff experiment was a predictable disaster, and he's failed to show any development at the plate after being regarded as a decent prospect in the Toronto system. Alex Rodriguez raves about his defense, so it should be interesting to see how this all plays out once Blalock and Mark Teixeira are both ready for prime time. Young retains some value in standard leagues, in that he's a pretty safe 10 HR option, with the potential to approach 10 steals. His horrid on-base and high at-bat total weighs down his value in leagues that use non-traditional scoring categories. He could be pressed to get at-bats if Teixeira is ready or if Texas wants to try Frank Catalanotto again at second base. Watch his spring training role closely under new manager Buck Showalter. There's been some brief talk that Young might get a look in centerfield if Texas can't find one this winter and is serious about shifting Blalock to second in order to get Teixeira at-bats.