‘Tis the season for the All-Star Game and the ending of the first half of the 2023 season. This year, the Brewers have a couple of candidates in the running to represent Milwaukee such as Willy Adames, William Contreras, and even rookies Joey Wiemer, Brice Turang, and Brian Anderson. However, there’s one player who’s been quietly making a comeback and making a statement for why he should be in the All-Star Game this year.
Christian Yelich.
Once considered to be the best in baseball, he’s regained his footing again and has been on a tear for what seems like the first time since the 2019 season.
Christian Yelich hasn’t been in the midsummer classic since 2019 when he finished second in the NL MVP voting to Cody Bellinger (We won’t talk about that). He made consecutive appearances in the 2018 and 2019 season as an all-star. Unfortunately, an injury in September of 2019 would end his season early and linger its way into the shortened 2020 season and it seemed Yelich struggled to shake it off.
Why Yelich should be an All-Star.
2023 though has been nothing but amazing for Yelich. It really looks like he is returning to that all-star form. Now, it’s no MVP type of season, but it definitely is way better than what we have seen the last three years. This resurgence really came out of nowhere, but fans are definitely not complaining.
So far, Yelich is posting .272/.366/.441 with an OPS of .807, nine dingers, 31 batted in, all in 69 games played this season. He’s ranked 6th in the NL for Stolen Bases with 16, and 8th in Runs with 49.
What’s Changed?
It’s worth talking about how Yelich has changed his approach at the plate. When Yelich hits the ball, he hits the ball hard, having a HardH% of 55.1% according to Baseball Reference; This is the highest it’s been since 2020 when it was 56.6%. He’s also hitting fly balls 20% of the time, which is his highest fly ball rate since 2019 where he was recording fly balls 28.1% of the time. His strikeout percentage has also decreased from last year of 24.1 to 23.0%
SINCE MAY 1st
Christian Yelich is one of only four players in baseball with a 3/4/5 slash line.
.304 / .401 / .500
He has a 144 wRC+ during that time. #ThisIsMyCrew
— Dominic Cotroneo (@Dom_Cotroneo) June 19, 2023
It’s been exciting to see Yelich have a comeback like he is. He’s been a productive player for the team in recent years, even with the injuries and setbacks. He is heading in a positive direction for 2023 and rightfully deserves a spot on the All-Star roster.
One might even say that Christian Yelich is back.
Follow me on Twitter @sarahspooon and follow us at @WiSportsHeroics. For all things Wisconsin sports, click here! We cover the Milwaukee Brewers, Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Wisconsin Badgers.
1 Comment
Those are hardly All-Star level stats. Far from “worthy”.