Is Christian Yelich the next Chris Davis?

[PeaveyFury]

This thread topic is totally brutal. Aren't the Brewers on pace for their all-time best season?

 

This was literally covered in page one of this thread.

[adambr2]

This thread topic is totally brutal. Aren't the Brewers on pace for their all-time best season?

 

I'm totally lost as to why legitimate questions/threads/discussion about the Milwaukee Brewers should be suppressed based on the overall performance of the team. That would be a terrible precedent to set.

 

It's so easy for a person to just not participate in discussions that they don't like or aren't interested in.

[TURBO]

 

Correct answer. Just because someone expresses long-term concerns about Christian Yelich doesn't mean they're not enjoying the team ride of 2021. Just because someone expresses disappointment that the Bucks didn't re-sign PJ Tucker doesn't mean they weren't excited about the championship.

 

Conversely, just because we were rebuilding in 2015 and 2016 didn't mean that there weren't fun and exciting things to discuss. A team enjoying a positive season does not mean only positive aspects of the season can be discussed, and vice-versa.

 

On that note, if you had asked me before the season where we would be in the division on August 12th if Christian Yelich had 6 homeruns and a .717 OPS and Keston Hiura had a negative 1 WAR and was back in Nashville, I would have said 3rd place at the absolute best. If you had told me 23 games over. 500 and an 8 game lead in the Central I would have assumed you had completely lost your marbles.

 

Quoted for truth.

[edfunderburk]

I just find it amazing that people continue to beat the horse to death.

 

He’s struggling……we get it……how many threads are necessary?

 

Brewers are winning anyway…..life is good.

 

I fully expect a thread like this the day after we win the World Series……..ok….carry on.

 

I’ll bet I’ve been a devoted fan longer than most on this board … I have followed Milwaukee passionately since I was 10 (1971)

 

Your reply suggests that it is odd or not OK to be concerned about a player who has fallen off a cliff stats wise in the past two season just because our beloved Brewers are having a great year

 

I’m thrilled with the amazing year we are having … I was 21 & in college the last time our Brewers went to the World Series … I believe they could do so again this year

 

I’m terribly disappointed in Yelich as a hitter … I prefer Tyrone Taylor when we are in need of a clutch hit

 

I hope that doesn’t make me a “bad fan” or communicate that I’m not grateful for a good season

[PeaveyFury]

Ok, let's focus on discussing the topic, specifically regarding Yelich's performance vs. contract rather than a debate regarding whether this thread should exist. Time to move on. If there's nothing to discuss, the thread will fall off.

[pacopete4]

I don’t think it makes you a bad fan. Just one that is going to punish Yelich by not having his normal years of the past. He’s better than TT against RHP. TT has been fine but he’s the flavor of the month for people upset that Yelich is struggling.

[adambr2]

I have a lot more confidence in Yelich going back in a positive direction than totally cratering into a Chris Davis. Even for deals that will obviously be bad on the back end, Chris Davis type disaster outcomes are rare.

[clancyphile]

To answer the question I don't think Yelich will be the next Chris Davis. MVP Yelich is probably gone forever but I think he'll probably settle back in as a 3 to 4 WAR player and maybe more like 1.5 to 2 in his mid 30s as he ages. That's my hope, anyway.

 

I think Yelich can get back to MVP level. He still would have had over 30 HR if you extrapolate his 2020 stats over a full season, and he also drew 46 walks over that time. The OBP skills are still there this year, with a .372 OBP. The K rate is a concern. but if work on swing mechanics can help Narvaez, it should work for Yelich.

 

The big lesson that needs to be taken from this by Yelich, other players, and the Brewers Organization is this: IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T TRY TO FIX IT!

[umphrey]

Chris Davis was taking amphetamines and then stopped. Honestly wouldn't surprise me if similar story with Yelich.

[SomewhereInTime]

Chris Davis was taking amphetamines and then stopped. Honestly wouldn't surprise me if similar story with Yelich.

 

Weren't there rumors about sign stealing by Yelich from around 2018?

[SRB]

I consider the 2020 Covid "season" largely meaningless given how demonstrably flukey the effects were on players league wide.

 

As for 2021, Yelich has been dealing with injuries and his overall line was fairly solid prior to his most recent cold streak (like 20 PA?). So the premise of this thread is pretty silly, in my opinion.

 

The advance statistics suggest pretty strongly to me that he is dealing with a lingering injury that is preventing him from hitting the ball as hard as his did in 2018-19. But his batted ball profile and plate discipline are otherwise unchanged, so it's not a matter of simply making less/worse contact. His Contact% is actually slightly up from 2019. He's also swinging at pitches a lot less, suggesting that he is being more timid and less aggressive (again, possibly due to injury).

[danzig6767]

Clearly the biggest concern is that Yelich is rarely driving the ball, whether it's into the gaps for doubles or home runs.

 

The question then is why?

 

Is he dealing with a nagging injury which is the main cause?

 

Is it instead a mix of minor injuries and all the time missed which has thrown off his timing at the plate?

 

Or is it mainly a mental issue to where the struggles/inability to hit as he expects to do, it's gotten into his head and thus as each game goes by with him rolling over on even grooved pitches that he used to crush, his frustration within himself just deepens?

 

Then again, it very well could be a combination of all of the above.

 

So long as it's not mainly being caused by say his back issues or any other specific injury that could negatively impact his performance for years to come, i'm reasonably confident that Christian will bounce back, just probably not to his MVP level seasons.

[Bulldogboy]

Luis Urias had 5 extra base hits today. When was the last time Yelich had more than one?? Is he Chris Davis? No. Is he ever going to be good again?? No.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I generally also write off the 2020 season, but Yelich is the same guy he was during those 60 games.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Luis Urias had 5 extra base hits today. When was the last time Yelich had more than one?? Is he Chris Davis? No. Is he ever going to be good again?? No.

 

He'll have runs where his is good again, but i doubt it will ever be sustained.

[rickh150]

Yelich won’t likely be better than 2018/2019. He isn’t the 2020/2021 player either, regardless of what you see or don’t see day to day. My belief is that he will get better and healthier in the next few years. His back/knee was and probably is something real to deal with too.

 

Hitting 20 HRs and batting .270/ OpS .800 is my expectation.

[True Blue Brew Crew]

He looks like a tightly wound spring that can't quite uncoil when he swings the bat. Figure out the physical (or mental) issue that is holding him back from taking a smooth, flowing swing and you'll see better numbers. Hoping it's more of a therapy than a surgery. Guess is that it's back related, but as bad as that can be, the solution doesn't have to be surgical.

[pacopete4]

He needs slump buster.

[KeithStone53151]

He looks like a tightly wound spring that can't quite uncoil when he swings the bat. Figure out the physical (or mental) issue that is holding him back from taking a smooth, flowing swing and you'll see better numbers. Hoping it's more of a therapy than a surgery. Guess is that it's back related, but as bad as that can be, the solution doesn't have to be surgical.

 

I'm not convinced it's injury related, he still has those occasional "marathon hitting sessions" and I doubt he'd be doing that if he was dealing with a nagging injury. Also 10 days on the couch certainly would have helped that.

 

One side note regarding Yelich that has bugged me a bit(I could be reading into this too much). In interviews when Strickland/Cousins asked what they did in quarantine, the talk was mostly about being at "camp strickland" and able to stay in baseball shape. In interviews with Hader/Lauer, they stayed on their routine...caught each others bullpens. As for Yelich, he caught up on some tv, started learning to play guitar, specifically noted going 10 days without picking up a bat. That's concerning for me. Did he even work out? My biggest fear in this type of contract is getting the next Pujols. A guy that gets the big contract, hits the donuts hard, and coasts through his contract like he has nothing to play for anymore.

 

I have a friend that works the Brewer games and can see more of the pregame workouts than the average fan. They've always pointed out who the hardest and least hard workers are. Moustakas, Gamel, Nelson, Burnes...all very hard workers. Specifically Braun and Yelich were pointed out as the least hard workers. That is of course one opinion based on surely incomplete information. I firmly believe the talent is still there and I think he just needs to get back to work and actually want it.

[Pugger]

Nothing like a thread like this when we are 8 games up in the division in mid August.

 

Amazing……I’ll just enjoy the season.

 

 

Well, the fact that Yelich is a shell of himself should be discussed by fans, right?

 

I mean, if someone is paying attention at all, it has to be a major concern.

 

Not just for the fans, but also the organization.

 

Absolutely! How can a guy go from league MVP and batting champ to hitting like a pitcher? I like the fact he can run well and get on base with walks but his hitting since he broke his kneecap has been woeful.

[dlk9s]

I wouldn't put any stock into a player's pre-game workout in regards to whether they "work hard" or not.

[sveumrules]

Absolutely! How can a guy go from league MVP and batting champ to hitting like a pitcher? I like the fact he can run well and get on base with walks but his hitting since he broke his kneecap has been woeful.

 

Yelich 2020-21: 218/365/386 (107 wRC+)

Average P 2021: 109/214/083 (-20 wRC+)

 

Since Yelich broke his knee cap his hitting has been 7% better than league average & 127% better than the average pitcher.

[timpep]

Absolutely! How can a guy go from league MVP and batting champ to hitting like a pitcher? I like the fact he can run well and get on base with walks but his hitting since he broke his kneecap has been woeful.

 

Yelich 2020-21: 218/365/386 (107 wRC+)

Average P 2021: 109/214/083 (-20 wRC+)

 

Since Yelich broke his knee cap his hitting has been 7% better than league average & 127% better than the average pitcher.

 

I don't think you understand hyperbole.

[sveumrules]

Absolutely! How can a guy go from league MVP and batting champ to hitting like a pitcher? I like the fact he can run well and get on base with walks but his hitting since he broke his kneecap has been woeful.

 

Yelich 2020-21: 218/365/386 (107 wRC+)

Average P 2021: 109/214/083 (-20 wRC+)

 

Since Yelich broke his knee cap his hitting has been 7% better than league average & 127% better than the average pitcher.

 

I don't think you understand hyperbole.

 

I understand it is everywhere all of the time, that is why I try to offer a more objective perspective.

[dlk9s]

I mean, they are both named Chris...