When the Milwaukee Brewers decided not to trade Willy Adames ahead of the 2024 MLB season, everyone knew that he was going to eventually leave in free agency. However, Milwaukee felt that they needed him on the team last year in order to have their best shot at competing for the postseason.
While Adames was an important member of the team last year, hitting .251/.332/.462 with 32 home runs, 112 RBI, and 21 stolen bases, Milwaukee did next to nothing to replace him when he signed a seven-year $182 million contract with the San Francisco Giants.
Instead, the Brewers moved Joey Ortiz from third base to shortstop and decided to rely on their young players taking steps forward in their development in order to make up for the production they lost when Adames left. Additionally, they hoped that a healthy Christian Yelich would pick up where he left off last year before having season-ending back surgery.
Christian Yelich Is Off to a Slow Start for the Milwaukee Brewers
Last season, Yelich hit .315/.406/.504 with 11 home runs, 42 RBI, and 21 stolen bases in 75 games before his season ended. He was voted as a starter to the National League All-Star Team for the first time in his career, which was his third overall appearance in the Midsummer Classic.
It certainly seemed like he was poised to pick up where he left off, too. In Spring Training, the 2018 NL MVP hit .353/.389/.735 with three home runs and 11 RBI.
However, Spring Training stats count for nothing when the regular season begins, and Yelich has gotten off to a slow start.
Entering play on Wednesday, he was hitting .150/.261/.317 with three home runs and 10 RBI. Most concerningly, he had struck out 18 times in 17 games.
When asked if he was worried about his sluggish start, Milwaukee’s designated hitter said, “It’s a slow start, but I’ve been there before. I was telling someone this the other day: Some years it’s like downhill skiing, nice and smooth and easy all year. You start up high and you’re there the whole time. And then other years, you’ve got a hard hat and shovel and you’re digging all season.
“They all play out differently and I know how to navigate both of them. There’s far less panic when you’ve done it for a long time. You realize how long the year is. It will turn. I’ll be fine. I’m not worried about it.”
And though it has only been a couple of games, it appears that things have, in fact, turned.
Milwaukee Brewers Star Christian Yelich Is on a Mini Hot Streak
On Tuesday, Yelich went 1-4 against the Detroit Tigers in Milwaukee’s 5-0 win. While a 1-4 game is not really at which to glance twice, it was significant as he had gone a combined 0-12 in each of the Brewers’ games against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the previous series.
Then, on Wednesday, the three-time All-Star went 2-4 with his fourth home run of the season. Now his batting line has started to improve, albeit slightly, and sits at .172/.274/.375.
The most glaring concern, as mentioned, is that Yelich is striking out a lot. Even in the last two games, which have seen him go 3-8 (.375), he struck out a combined four times.
Entering play on Wednesday, Yelich had a 26.1% strikeout percentage. The only time he had a season in which he had a higher strikeout rate was in his woeful 2020 season, when he struck out 30.8% of the time.
That being said, his average exit velocity entering play on Wednesday was 91.4 mph. Last year, when he was an All-Star, it was 90.3 mph. His hard-hit ball percentage right now is 51.2%. Last year, it was 46.9%.
In other words, when he puts the ball in play, he is actually hitting it better than he did last season. The problem is that he is putting the ball in play less, at least currently.
But if the last two games are an indication that he has figured it out, he could spark an early run for the Brewers.
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