The Blue Jays released Tulowitzki in December while still on the hook for $38 million. He was paid $20 million in 2018 and never stepped on the field due to a heel injury that lingered all season. At this point of his career, Tulo is a complete wild card. The Yankees decided to roll the dice, inking him to a one-year deal for the league minimum. Tulowitzki will man shortstop while Didi Gregorius (expected back sometime this summer) recovers from Tommy John surgery. He has clearly not been the same hitter since leaving Colorado in terms of his average, although the power numbers somewhat held up back in 2016. He hasn't reached 150 games since 2009 and hasn't hit the 140 mark since 2011. Tulowitzki is an endgame dart throw to see what is left, but he may end up being your first cut of the season. His glory days are well behind him and you would just be hoping for a cheap 20-homer season at this point.
It's been known for some time that Tulowitzki is prone to injuries. However, the 2017 season was even more injury-filled than normal as he played in just 66 games, his second-lowest total since his rookie year. After spending a month on the DL with a strained hamstring, he battled a sore groin before ending the season on the disabled list with an ankle injury, which included ligament damage. It's expected that Tulowitzki will be at full health once spring training rolls around, and the Blue Jays have said that he will still serve as their starting shortstop in 2018, but a return to his former glory seems highly unlikely at this point. His slugging percentage plummeted from .443 to .378 as both his hard-hit and flyball rates fell in his age-32 season, and his walk rate dipped as well (to a career-low 6.5 percent).
The oft-injured Tulowitzki stayed fairly healthy for a second straight season -- in fact, he was healthier in 2016 than he'd been in any of his previous four campaigns, playing 131 games and tallying 492 at-bats. The shortstop did make one trip to the 15-day DL beginning in late May, but based on his track record, it was the quality, not the quantity, of his at-bats that underwhelmed his owners. Tulowitzki's .254 average was his lowest such mark since he hit .240 over 96 at-bats in his 2006 rookie season. He had average plate discipline, and for just the second time in seven seasons, finished with a contact rate under 80 percent (the prior year he posted a 77 percent contact rate). In fairness, the two-time Silver Slugger winner (2010 and 2011) suffered a bit of bad luck with a career-worst .275 BABIP. He remains an easy top-10 option at shortstop in the power categories, but the influx of young talent at the position has pushed him to the edge of the top-10 when factoring in average, runs and steals.
Before his trade from Colorado to Toronto, Tulowitzki was in the midst of one of his worst seasons with the Rockies. While his .300/.348/.471 line was still good by most standards, the resulting .818 OPS was his worst since 2008. He was even worse following the trade, as he hit just .239/.317/.380 in 41 games for Toronto. The injury bug bit him once again as well, as he suffered a cracked left shoulder blade after a collision with outfielder Kevin Pillar. Still, Tulowitzki played in 128 games, his highest total since 2011. Despite his constant injuries, only Ian Desmond has more home runs among current shortstops over the past four seasons. Tulowitzki remains a premier player at the position, even with last year’s rough campaign. He could find himself as the leadoff hitter in Toronto’s dynamic lineup in 2016, and if so, he will score runs by the truckloads.
The star-crossed Tulowitzki certainly justified his high-round sticker price through mid-July, as he led the majors with a Bondsian 1.035 OPS to accompany his usual slick defense at shortstop. Even on a Rockies squad headed for a losing season, he was still a leading MVP candidate behind what was shaping up to be a career year, but such talk would come to an end by early August. A supposedly minor thigh injury was viewed as a temporary setback for Tulowitzki, but he was later diagnosed with a torn labrum in his left hip, ending his season after 91 games. Tulowitzki is expected to be at full strength for the spring, but given that he’s missed at least 30 games three seasons in a row, those who invest in him certainly need a reliable insurance option on hand. Furthermore, the Rockies’ acknowledgement this offseason that they would entertain trade offers for the shortstop adds a wrinkle into Tulowitzki’s valuation in the event he lands in a more hitter-neutral park, as an unconscionable .417/.497/.748 line at Coors Field weighed heavier than normal into his numbers in 2014.
After sustaining a season-ending groin injury one year earlier, Tulowitzki came out of spring training looking like the MVP candidate of old, batting .347/.414/.639 with 16 homers and 51 RBI in his first 60 games. However, it was in Game 61 where things inevitably turned sour, as Tulowitzki suffered a broken rib while making a diving stop and missed a full month of action. Tulowitzki would come back to hit a more modest but still satisfying .277/.369/.466 in his remaining 65 contests, but it ultimately left fantasy owners wondering just how spectacular his final totals might have been if not for the injury. Those “what ifs” have unfortunately occurred far too often for Tulowitzki, who has missed 35 or more games in four of the past six seasons. The injuries have rendered the former stolen base threat a station-to-station baserunner at this stage in his career, but when healthy, Tulowitzki’s four-category production makes him the class of his position in the fantasy realm. Entering his age-29 season, Tulowitzki still offers first-round upside in nearly any format, but he’s obviously not someone for the risk-averse to target.
Tulowitzki netted little return for those who selected him early in fantasy drafts, falling victim to elbow and groin injuries that limited him to 47 games last season. After receiving the full offseason to recover from the season-ending groin issue, Tulowitzki is expected to be without discomfort in the field and provide a lift to a Rockies lineup that still managed to finish third in the National League in runs scored in 2012. In the few games he did play, Tulowitzki showed his trademark excellent plate discipline and a career-high 85.3 percent contact rate, suggesting he can still be an elite hitter at the position. The return from a groin injury may send his declining steals numbers further south, but Tulowitzki still brings plus-power and batting average to a position that saw just three qualified players eclipse 20 home runs, while only Derek Jeter hit over .300. All indications thus far suggest Tulowitzki's recovery is going well, and if so, he could come at quite the bargain on draft day if others are scared off by last season's poor bill of health.
Other than a few bumps and bruises in the second half, Tulowitzki managed to stay healthy last season and reach the 30-homer mark for the second time in his career. Perhaps the minor ailments are the reason behind his declining stolen-base totals, but his success rate has improved with his selectivity on the basepaths over the last two seasons anyway. The hip bursitis that ultimately shut him down in September is worth monitoring, but Tulowitzki was able to resume workouts in mid-October and should be fine when spring training begins. As plate discipline goes, a slight uptick in his walk and contact rates were the only change and all signs here point to another season of elite production from the consensus top shortstop on the board.
Tulowitzki's 2010 season proved once again, it's not how you start, but how you finish. He started the season with nine homers, 34 RBI and a .306/.375/.502 batting line, before a broken wrist sidelined him for 40 games in mid-June. In September, he went gangbusters on NL pitchers with 15 homers, 40 RBI and a .322/.376/.800 batting line. It truly was a September to remember for the MVP-caliber shortstop. In the offseason, the Rockies signed him to a seven-year extension that runs through the 2020 season. He still has trouble staying healthy, and the 20 steals he posted in 2009 probably won't resurface again, but how many other shortstops offer as many skills (power, speed, batting average, defense) as he does?
Two months into the season, Tulowitzki had just dug himself out of the Mendoza line, and sported just five homers and four stolen bases. After that, something clicked for Tulo, as he hit .325 with 27 homers and an OPS of 1.018 with considerations for the league MVP award. As an elite shortstop in an era with precious few elite fantasy options at the position, he won't be able to fly under the radar on draft day this time around as he did last season. Even if he slides back into the 20-25 home-run range with fewer steals, Tulowitzki is still a top-tier shortstop worth targeting.
Injuries -- a torn quad and a self-inflicted owie to his right palm -- decimated his sophomore season. His second half, however, was encouraging, and points to a breakout 2009, especially in power. Tulowitzki improved his contact rate, walk rate and K/BB, signs of a player learning his craft. Look for a repeat of his rookie year, maybe with some extra pop. All that's missing is steals.
Tulowitzki put together a monster rookie season in 2007. He broke the National League record for rookie shortstops in home runs (24) and RBI (99). He also led all shortstops in total chances, putouts, assists, double plays, fielding percentage and range factor. Tulowitzki improved as the season went along and at 23 years old, the best is yet to come. He struggled early in the season but was able to adjust and limit his strikeouts as the season went along. He will bat second in the lineup this year, which should improve his runs total, but may limit his RBI opportunities a bit.
Tulowitzki, the seventh overall pick in the 2005 draft, has enjoyed a meteoric rise to the big leagues. After just 126 minor league games, he made his major league debut in August. Though he batted just .240/.318/.292 in 96 at-bats for the Rockies, Tulowitzki redeemed himself in the Arizona Fall League, batting .329/.398/.468. He has excellent plate discipline and developing power. Barring an awful spring, he's expected to open 2007 as the Rockies' starting shortstop.
Tulowitzki, the seventh overall pick in the 2005 draft, played 22 games at Single-A Modesto hitting .266/.343/.457 before tearing his quadriceps. A five-tool talent, he's more developed than fellow shortstop prospect Chris Nelson, but still needs another year or two in the minors, starting with a season in Double-A in 2006.
