Sep 17, 2018; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Christian Yelich (22) watches after hitting a triple in the sixth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Miller Park. Photo Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Christian, OF, Milwaukee Brewers
2018: The National League’s Most Valuable Player, Yelich rode his sweet lefty swing and elite bat control to a season for the ages, amassing 36 home runs, 22 stolen bases, triple-digit runs and RBIs, and a delightfully round 1.000 OPS. He was clearly not limited by his ground-ball tendencies and made significantly more hard contact (47.6 percent) than ever before.
Forecast: Yelich hit home runs on 35 percent of his fly balls, the third-highest rate since 2002. It’s this historically extreme outlier that nearly guarantees strong regression in 2019. Yelich should readily make another run at 20-plus home runs and stolen bases, but his top-10 draft price might leave many investors disappointed.
2019 Projections: .298 avg., 29 doubles, three triples, 25 home runs, 87 RBIs, 91 runs, 15 stolen bases.
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