Christian Yelich’s Phenomenal Start to May

Christian Yelich is having his best stretch of play in almost a season. Last year, and at the start of this year, he was hitting the ball hard, but usually on the ground, into the shift or just short of the wall. However, he has been on a tear in the month of May so far, and the numbers back it up.

Christain Yelich’s Stats

Currently, Christian Yelich is slashing.258/.341/.424. He is leading the team in hits, runs, stolen bases and RBIs. He has seven home runs on the year already after hitting just 14 all of 2022. He has been a consistent leadoff hitter all year, but he has kicked it into a different gear this month.

In May he is slashing .333/.396/.604 with four home runs, 12 RBIs and four stolen bases.

“You can’t hit a grounder over the fence, so, if you’re going to do damage, it’s got to go in the air. But you’ve got to do it the right way.”

-Christian Yelich

Yelich has been doing damage in the air this month. It’s only May 15th and his OPS is 1.000. He ranks in the 98th percentile for hard hit percentage and the 92nd percentile for average exit velocity. He is in the top seven percent of hitters in xBA. All of these are good signs for Yelich as he looks to lead the Brew Crew back into the postseason.

Looking Ahead

Yelich is getting his first off day of the month against the Cardinals in game two of the series. He was pulled in game one when the Brewers were trailing big. Craig Counsell also alluded to the fact that Yelich’s back was a little tight and they didn’t want to take any sort of risk. Yelich should return to the lineup on Wednesday.

The rest of the month for the Brewers includes matchups with the Rays, Astros and Giants. The Brewers hold a slim lead in the NL Central with plenty of baseball left to play. The Pirates are right on their trail, and the Cardinals seem to have figured things out recently. The Brewers are going to need the best version of Christian Yelich if they hope to win the division.

As Always