Article: Deep Thoughts: Christian Yelich

[Sean Franken]

Christian Yelich has continued his struggles this season. Fans are frustrated and Yelich is frustrated, the question is, where do we go from here? 

 

Earlier this season, I wrote a piece comparing the seasons of Christian Yelich’s Brewers career to seasons of Seinfeld. Yes, you read that correctly, that was a thing I actually did. Look it up. I was all in on the optimism that Yelich would have a bounce-back year. The question now needs to be asked, am I still optimistic? Well, I’m not so sure.

I’m not here to bash Yelich, that’s not my style. It’s not like the guy isn’t trying. He’s putting in the work and is still a valuable member of the organization. I just think we, as fans, may need to adjust our expectations. A return to his production levels as a Marlin would be a good thing for the Crew, and I believe that’s achievable. I’m just not sure we’ll see a return to his 2018-19 production. Those seasons were pretty amazing, and Yelich is now on the wrong side of 30. 

 

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	TB	GDP	HBP	SH	SF	IBB	Pos	Awards
2013	21	MIA	NL	62	273	240	34	69	12	1	4	16	10	0	31	66	.288	.370	.396	.766	112	95	4	1	0	1	1	7/8H
2014	22	MIA	NL	144	660	582	94	165	30	6	9	54	21	7	70	137	.284	.362	.402	.764	115	234	9	3	3	2	3	*78/H	GG
2015	23	MIA	NL	126	525	476	63	143	30	2	7	44	16	5	47	101	.300	.366	.416	.782	118	198	13	2	0	0	2	*78/H
2016	24	MIA	NL	155	659	578	78	172	38	3	21	98	9	4	72	138	.298	.376	.483	.859	135	279	20	4	0	5	4	*78/HD	MVP-19,SS
2017	25	MIA	NL	156	695	602	100	170	36	2	18	81	16	2	80	137	.282	.369	.439	.807	120	264	13	6	0	6	4	*8/H
2018	26	MIL	NL	147	651	574	118	187	34	7	36	110	22	4	68	135	.326	.402	.598	1.000	164	343	14	7	0	2	2	*798/H	AS,MVP-1,SS
2019	27	MIL	NL	130	580	489	100	161	29	3	44	97	30	2	80	118	.329	.429	.671	1.100	179	328	8	8	0	3	16	*9/7HD8	AS,MVP-2,SS
2020	28	MIL	NL	58	247	200	39	41	7	1	12	22	4	2	46	76	.205	.356	.430	.786	110	86	4	1	0	0	2	*7/D
2021	29	MIL	NL	117	475	399	70	99	19	2	9	51	9	3	70	113	.248	.362	.373	.736	99	149	5	3	0	3	5	7H/D9
2022	30	MIL	NL	57	245	214	35	50	9	2	5	21	9	0	27	61	.234	.322	.364	.687	94	78	4	2	0	2	0	*7D/H

For whatever reason, Yelich has come nowhere near his production from those seasons. Is it injury-related? Is it mental? Is it a combination? Only he knows, or maybe he doesn't know. Maybe he could benefit from a few days off or by batting lower in the order. At this point all options need to be explored. 

Let’s be honest, Christian Yelich isn’t the only Brewers hitter struggling. The entire Brewers offense has been less than stellar for much of the season. Some fans are looking for a quick fix aka George Constanza, “I think I figured out a way to get Trout and Ohtani and we wouldn’t have to give up very much.”

Yelich isn’t going anywhere, and I’m not ready to write him off. If he keeps putting in the work, hopefully, the results come. One thing is for sure, a productive Christian Yelich would be a key piece to a potential Brewers playoff run. 
 

 

 

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[homer]

There is some hope. His statcast numbers look really good. 

And his last four games have given us exit velocities of 102.3, 106.5, 102.4, 105.3, 108.2, 110.6, 108.5, and 103.2. This is what he was doing a month ago. I have a feeling next week is going to be a good one for Christian.

[homer]

There is some hope. His statcast numbers look really good. 

And his last four games have given us exit velocities of 102.3, 106.5, 102.4, 105.3, 108.2, 110.6, 108.5, and 103.2. This is what he was doing a month ago. I have a feeling next week is going to be a good one for Christian.