Christian Yelich, Left Field, Milwaukee Brewers

Date of Birth: 12/5/1991
Birthplace: Thousand Oaks, California

Christian Yelich, left fielder for the Milwaukee Brewers, was drafted straight out of high school by the Miami Marlins in 2010. He played in their minor league system from 2010 through most of last year, finishing with an impressive .313 batting average.

Yelich played in 62 games with the Marlins in 2013, batting .288 with 69 hits. As a left fielder, he had 103 putouts and no errors in 59 games. He finished the 2014 season with 165 hits, 30 doubles, 54 RBIs, 21 stolen bases, and a .284 batting average in 144 games.

Yelich won his first Gold Glove in 2014. In 138 games as a left fielder, he made 255 putouts and 1 error and he had a fielding percentage of .996.

Yelich and the Marlins agreed to a seven-year, $49.57 million contract on March 22, 2015.

Yelich finished the 2015 season with 143 hits, 30 doubles, 16 stolen bases, 44 RBIs, and a .300 batting average in 126 games. As a left fielder, he made 182 putouts and 2 errors in 103 games.

Yelich had another strong season in 2016, winning his first Silver Slugger award for his offensive play. In 155 games, he batted .298 with career highs in hits (172), doubles (38), home runs (21), and RBIs (98). Defensively, as the Marlins' left fielder in 120 games, he made 192 putouts and 3 errors.

In 2017, Yelich batted .282 in 156 games with the Marlins. He had 170 hits, 36 doubles, 18 home runs, 16 stolen bases, 81 RBIs, and 137 strikeouts to 80 walks. Defensively, as the Marlins' center fielder in 155 games, he made 370 putouts and 1 error. He had a .997 fielding percentage.

The Marlins traded Yelich to the Brewers on January 25, 2018. He had an outstanding first season with the Brewers, winning the NL MVP award in 2018. He led the NL in batting with .326 and he was one RBI and two home runs short of winning the NL Triple Crown. He finished the regular season with 187 hits, 34 doubles, 36 home runs, 110 RBIs, and 22 stolen bases in 147 games. Defensively, he played 90 games in left field, 20 games in center field, and 75 games in right field. In his first postseason, he batted just .194 with 7 hits, including 2 home runs, 2 stolen bases, and 3 RBIs. He walked 11 times and struck out 7.

Yelich had another outstanding season in 2019, and he won his third Silver Slugger award and the Hank Aaron award. He led all MLB players in slugging percentage with .671 and in OPS with 1.100. He was tied for the NL batting champion with Ketel Marte. The only downside to his season was an injury - he fractured his kneecap in September and he had to miss the playoffs. He finished the regular season with 161 hits, 29 doubles, 44 home runs, 30 stolen bases, 97 RBIs, 118 strikeouts to 80 walks, and a .329 batting average in 130 games. Defensively, as the Brewers' right fielder in 124 games, he made 218 putouts and 4 errors.

Yelich played in 58 games in 2020. He finished the season with 41 hits, 7 doubles, 12 home runs, 4 stolen bases, 22 RBIs, 76 strikeouts to 46 walks, and a .205 batting average. Defensively, he played 51 games in left field and he was the Brewers' DH in 7 games. In the postseason, he had 2 hits in 9 at-bats in 2 games.

Yelich spent time on the IL in 2021 with a lower back strain. He finished the season with 99 hits, 19 doubles, 51 RBIs, 113 strikeouts to 70 walks, and a .248 batting average in 117 games. Defensively, as a left fielder in 107 games, he made 170 putouts and one error. In the postseason, he batted .200 with 3 hits and 1 stolen base in 15 at-bats in 4 games.

Career batting statistics for Yelich through 2021 include:

• 1,095 games played
• 1,207 hits
• 235 doubles
• 160 home runs
• 137 stolen bases
• 573 RBIs
• 1,021 strikeouts to 564 walks
• .292 batting average

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Christian Yelich
ESPN - Christian Yelich