MLB: 5 overvalued/undervalued players entering 2015

1B Prince Fielder Texas Rangers

Contract: 9 years, $214 million ($23.77 million/year)

“Everything is bigger in Texas”…including Prince Fielder. A season ago—his first in Texas after being dealt in the offseason for second baseman Ian Kinsler—Fielder showed up lighter, and “in better shape”. Yet he still weighs an estimated 275 pounds.

So he could play along the defensive line in the NFL. Do the Cowboys need a defensive end?

Fielder has been an outstanding hitter in his major league career. He has a career .388 on-base percentage and .522 slugging percentage. Put those marks together and he has a .910 OPS—which begins the Hall of Fame conversations (few Hall of Fame sluggers were below .900 OPS).

And he did much of that in his two seasons in Detroit playing in a pitcher-friendly Comerica Park. But Fielder is likely never going to be thought of as a defensive savant. And for a player making almost $24 million, it’s not asking too much that he step his game up in the postseason.

Yet in eight playoff series, he has a batting average below .200, an on-base percentage below .300 and a .333 slugging percentage. He is a good contact hitter, and if healthy this year ought to be aided by the jet stream that runs through the Rangers’ ball park in Arlington.

But he’s still not worth the money he’s making. It wouldn’t be too tough to find a first baseman who adds what he does offensively, is better defensively, and makes half of his salary. With Anthony Rizzo quickly entering the discussion of best one baggers in the game, there’s an example of a player with better overall production who makes pennies compared to what Fielder makes.

Next: The final overvalued player on our list