The Milwaukee Brewers unfortunately lost outfielder Christian Yelich to a low back injury. He is currently on the 10 day injured list with a retroactive date of April 13. At this time there’s no knowing if he will be able to return after a minimum 10 day absence or if the Brew Crew will be without him for an extended period of time.
For Yelich this flare up of back pain came at a very inopportune time. He was off to a tremendous start to the season in which through 11 games he launched five home runs while slashing .333/.422/.744. Without him in the lineup Blake Perkins has been seeing more opportunities and he has been making the most out of them.
Blake Perkins has been taking advantage of increased playing time with Christian Yelich out.
Like several other young Brewers players Blake Perkins is in his sophomore season. During his rookie campaign the switch hitter had just an 86 OPS+ across 67 games and 168 plate appearances, but he established himself as an elite defender. In a small 10 game sample size, in which his playing time increased after Yelich got hurt, he has a 146 OPS+ and has delivered in some clutch spots.
Digging deeper into Blake Perkins’ offensive statistics.
During the Brewers series finale against the San Diego Padres Blake Perkins delivered the only run of the game by hitting a clutch RBI single in the eighth inning. With runners in scoring position this year he has delivered time and time again. In nine opportunities he has four base hits and as many RBI. Additionally he has been consistently getting base hits as through his first 10 games he has collected hits in eight games that includes a pair of three hit performances.
CLUTCH UP, @theBlakePerkins ‼️ pic.twitter.com/Kr4oi75OwK
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) April 17, 2024
Blake Perkins had 3 hits and 3 RBI last night
Tonight he added another RBI to that total with a home run!
— Tyler Koerth (@TylerKoerth) April 11, 2024
What other outfield options do the Milwaukee Brewers have?
In baseball things can change rather quickly, so if Yelich is out for an extended period of time and Blake Perkins begins to falter who might the Brewers turn to? Outside of the regulars in Sal Frelick and Jackson Chourio they also have Joey Wiemer on the big league roster. Wiemer began the year in the minor to continue working on his revamped swing and has not seen a lot of action with Milwaukee yet this year. Outfielder Garrett Mitchell is currently on the 60-day IL with a broken hand and is not expected back until early June.
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