Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich has found success batting in the leadoff spot over the past few seasons. In particular last year he had a bit of a resurgence as overall he slashed .278/.370/.447 with 19 home runs, 76 RBI, and 28 stolen bases. Additionally he served as the leadoff hitter in 123 out of his 144 games played and his 106 runs scored was the 11th best in all of baseball.
As we look ahead to the start of the 2024 season it is possible that he will lose the leadoff spot to a younger player. Contact and speed oriented Sal Frelick is an option along with Garrett Mitchell in which he similarly has a ton of speed but has a higher slugging potential than Frelick.
If Christian Yelich isn’t in the leadoff spot for the Milwaukee Brewers should he bat third in the lineup?
Should Frelick or Mitchell be placed as the first hitter in the lineup then it seems likely that manager Pat Murphy would want to go with a right-handed hitter second. William Contreras has been in that position before and would be a favorite to bat second again in 2024.
When it comes to selecting the third hitter Christian Yelich is an option. Him hitting third would stagger lefties and righties at the top of the order and would allow Rhys Hoskins to bat cleanup. Brewers media personnel have constructed similar lineup projections indicating this as well as strongly hinted that Yelich will not be hitting leadoff to start this year.
I gave three lineup scenarios in my notebook on @620wtmj .com, I’m starting to believe this is the most likely one.https://t.co/D7hc9xH3aU pic.twitter.com/lGT72lCGvh
— Dominic Cotroneo (@Dom_Cotroneo) March 23, 2024
Garrett Mitchell grand slam. He’s your regular center fielder to start the year. Probably in the leadoff spot, too.
— Curt Hogg (@CyrtHogg) March 22, 2024
How has Christian Yelich performed hitting third in the batting order?
Throughout his career Christian Yelich has logged 536 games as a team’s third hitter. He has started 401 games as the leadoff hitter and 348 games as the second hitter. The vast majority of his opportunities as a three hole hitter came with the Miami Marlins in which in 2016 he appeared there 121 times and 144 times in 2017. With Milwaukee he maxed out at 80 games played as the third hitter in 2021, but also made 57 appearances there in 2022 and 25 in 2020.
From a statistical standpoint Yelich has a career .279/.368/.437 slash line hitting third in the lineup. He has 63 home runs in this position, 271 RBI, and 57 stolen bases. These are pretty good numbers for a large sample size of 2361 plate appearances, but the biggest question is if he still is a three hole caliber type of player?
Is Christian Yelich the Milwaukee Brewers best hitter?
Traditionally speaking teams place their best hitter third in the lineup. In a nutshell this definition breaks down to whichever player has the best ability to hit for a good batting average, maintains a high on-base percentage, has power potential, and can deliver in clutch situations.
On the Brewers 2024 squad this definition describes William Contreras the best. Christian Yelich has a case for being the teams second best hitter, but due to the benefits of lefty and righty staggering it may ultimately be wise to have him bat third this year.
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