The Hardball Times

Mark Teahen Steps Up

by Craig Brown
September 11, 2006

Mark Teahen was a marvelous young prospect who was already at Triple-A.
- Billy Beane
Athletics Nation (9/20/2004)

Tuesday night, when the Royals announced Mark Teahen would undergo shoulder surgery, ending his season, it marked the end of one of the more amazing seasons I can remember. In the span of five months, Teahen went from weak hitting, bottom of the order automatic out, to a superb number three hitter who leads his team in OPS.

Have you ever seen this type of transformation? I know I haven’t.

Check out Teahen’s career divided into thirds:


TimeAVGOBPSLG
1st third (279 AB).251.312.373
2nd third (281 AB).242.297.384
3rd third (280 AB).307.383.568

Wow. Just wow.

I like breaking down Teahen like this because it shows just how far he has come. The second line in the chart includes last September, when he hit .295 with a .505 slugging percentage. For his overall numbers to be that low in that split, he had to have been awful immediately before and after September of 2005. And he was.

But look at what he’s done lately. Something happened to flip that switch. It’s transformed him from one of the worst players in the league into one of the best third basemen around.

I do know that we had him projected to be a very good major-league player and an excellent defensive third baseman.
- Billy Beane
Kansas City Star (5/30/06)

It sure didn’t look like it on May 5. That was the date Teahen reported to Omaha. At the time of his demotion, he was batting .195/.241/.351 in 77 at-bats. He had five walks and 23 strikeouts, and looked completely lost at the plate. Maybe that was the problem. Every time up, he seemed to be changing his approach, looking to make that single adjustment that would make everything all right. Whatever he was doing, it wasn’t working. He was lost.

So, he traveled north to Omaha "to get his confidence back," in the words of manager Buddy Bell. And something happened.

He began his Triple-A tenure with a 2-23 slump, an average of .087. But there was something different. He was becoming more selective at the plate. He was drawing walks. In his first seven games, he drew four walks. His OBP was .222.

Then he went berserk. For the rest of his time in Omaha, he went hitless in a game only once. For his time playing for the O-Royals, Teahen hit .380/.500/.658; monster numbers in any league. This was when he really began taking walks. In 24 games, he walked 22 times. That was by far the best walk rate in his career. Compare that to the 45 times he walked for the Royals in his 153 career major league games. It wasn’t something mechanical at the plate. It was his approach.

In Omaha, he hit exclusively in the middle of the lineup; he hit fourth or fifth in every game he played. And he hit everything. He was .364 against lefties and .382 against right-handed pitching. He hit .350 with the bases empty and .410 with men on base. He hit .381 with runners in scoring position. In close and late situations, Teahen hit only .222, but thanks to 10 walks in 22 plate appearances, his OBP was an excellent .462. He was dominating.

He hasn’t changed his approach since rejoining the Royals on June 3. In 82 games, he drew 35 walks. In other words, he’s drawn almost 44% of his career walks in his last 82 games.

This is my favorite table of the season:


DateAVGOBPSLG
4/3 – 5/4.195.241.351
6/3 – 9/5.313.384.557

That’s a 0.941 OPS since early June, representing a staggering 350 point increase. Oh, and the guy that he was traded for… The guy that is making $12 million this year… Carlos Beltran’s OPS is 1.024 over that time. Beltran is a great player and is going to lead the Mets into the post-season, but Teahen is giving the Royals more bang for their buck.

If he ever pulled the ball, the guy could be a monster.
Keith Lippman, Oakland A’s Farm Director
New York Times (4/24/2005)

Teahen was anything but a pull hitter when he arrived in Kansas City. His game plan was to look for pitches away and dink them into the opposite field. Every once in awhile, he would get out in front and really drive a pitch, but those at-bats were the exception.

Since his return, it has looked to me that he was more aggressive at the plate and getting his hands out in front of the ball. According to his spray chart, it certainly looks like he has been pulling the ball. On his batted balls in play, 16% have gone to right field, 19% have gone to center and 18% have gone to left. Those are numbers for the whole season. Before his demotion, the number of balls that went to right was closer to 15%.

And for Teahen, like most hitters, being able to pull the ball is essential to making it in the big leagues. It where he’s going to generate his power and truly drive the ball. Look at this chart from Hit Tracker Online that shows 12 of Teahen’s 18 home runs have been to right and right-center. It’s also interesting to note that the two home runs that Teahen hit before he was sent down to Omaha traveled to left field and center field.

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Teahen by the numbers

Here are some stats to digest: