2025 Fantasy Baseball: Christian Yelich Profile, Preview, Predictions
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The bounce was back in Christian Yelich's bat early last season, but he missed half of the year with a back issue (herniated disk) that required surgery. The Brewers expect him to be ready for opening day despite limited early in spring training.
All-Star starter Christian Yelich ties it up with his 10th home run of the year! pic.twitter.com/kCi2vvillz
— MLB (@MLB) July 7, 2024
OF – Christian Yelich, MLW (ADP – 117.6)
In 2023, Yelich had rebound in his game, leading to three-year highs in runs (106), home runs (19), RBIs (76), and stolen bases (28). His bat had the most success from May through July, leading to a .314 batting average with 54 runs, 13 home runs, 48 RBIs, and 17 steals over 290 at-bats. A back injury cost him some playing time in September, paired with a down final 157 at-bats (30 runs, three home runs, 17 RBIs, and six stolen bases). His contact batting average (.373) improved for four consecutive seasons while delivering a winning RBI rate (19).
Over his first 11 games last season, Yelich went 13-for-39 with seven runs, five home runs, 11 RBIs, and two stolen bases, giving fantasy supporters hope of an impact year in the realm of 2018 and 2019. Unfortunately, by mid-May, he was on the injured list for 25 days with a lower back strain. Yelich lost his power stroke over his next 62 games (.312/37/6/31/19 over 231 at-bats) while remaining productive in the other counting categories. His back issue reemerged in late July, ending his season. In mid-August, he had surgery to address a herniated disk.
His strikeout rate (18.4) was a career-best. He continues to have strength in his walk rate (12.7). His bat rebounded against left-handed pitching (.322 with four home runs and 15 RBIs over 87 at-bats).
Yelich still hits a tremendous number of ground balls (54.5% – 55.8 in his career), but he finished strength in his HR/FB rate (19.6 – 20.2 in 2023 ~ over 32.0% from 2019 to 2020). His high exit velocity (91.1) and hard-hit rate (46.5) were below his best seasons. Yelich still has a worm-killing launch angle (5.2 – 4.4 in his career).
Fantasy Outlook: His foundation skill set checks enough positive boxes, highlighted by his high contact batting average (.401) and his uptick in stolen bases (21). I’ll give his power a pass last season due to his lingering back issue. The Brewers will hit him in a favorable part of the batting order, and he was a top-25 hitter in 2023 while on a higher path last year. Yelich has an outside chance at a 20/30 season with help in batting average and runs.
RANKINGS
Top 5 Catchers | Catchers 6-10 | Catchers 11-15
Top 5 First Basemen | First Basemen 6-10 | First Basemen 11-15
Top 5 Second Basemen | Second Basemen 6-10 | Second Basemen 11-15
Top 5 Shortstops | Shortstops 6-10 | Shortstops 11-15
Top 5 Third Basemen | Third Basemen 6-10 | Third Basemen 11-15
With 20+ years of experience in the high-stakes fantasy market, I aim to research and compete at the highest level in baseball and football each season. I've contributed as a writer/analyst for Sports Draft Daily, ScoutPro, Scout Fantasy, Fulltime Fantasy, FFToolbox, and Sports Illustrated Fantasy. I'm honored to be in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship Hall of Fame. My drafting philosophy is risk-averse yet open to betting on potential game-changers. I approach player selection with a neutral perspective, acknowledging that fantasy sports are inherently unpredictable due to injuries, performance dips, and managerial decisions. My work focuses on these main areas: - Season-long fantasy baseball and football - BestBall Baseball and Football Events - Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS): DraftKings, FanDuel, and Underdog - Long Shot Player Prop Parlays for NFL I participate in various leagues and contests, including NFBC, NFFC, RTSports, FFPC, DraftKings, Underdog Fantasy, FanDuel, and FFWC, with the goal of leveraging my extensive experience and research for success in each game format. A fantasy follower can expect in-depth profiles of NFL and MLB players, along with season-long and weekly projections for each fantasy football season. In addition, I have many strategy articles to help develop fantasy players' learning curves.
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