With Christian Yelich’s 1-for-5 day yesterday, he’s officially league average at the plate, spotting a perfectly fine 100 wRC+. Two and three years ago, he was finishing seasons with 7.7 and 7.8 fWAR. This year, he’s at 1.1 so far. He is one seventh of what he was.
What changed? Well, this isn’t all an absence of sign-stealing. In 2018, Yelich had a 180 wRC+ at home and a 155 on the road; in 2019, it was 196 and 152. In 2020, they dropped to 132 and 96 over the small-sample season. This year, though, they’re at 94 and 106. Maybe Yelich had a sign-stealing system rigged up, maybe he doesn’t anymore, I’m not going to formally accuse him (I’d call what I’m doing “rather explicit hinting”), who knows, maybe it’s a part of it. The road numbers, though…155 to 152 to 96 to 106. Even just focusing on those, where things shouldn’t have changed at all: The guy’s just worse. He’s just not as good as he was.
Only 29, Yelich should be in the prime of his prime. The Brewers would sure hope he would be. He’s signed through 2028. 2028! He’s making an average of 24 million dollars a year through 2028. And in his prime, he’s average.
For context, the core of the Brewers—Brandon Woodruff, Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta—is making a combined five million dollars this year. A little more, actually, but…yeah. About five million dollars. Imagine if the Brewers were spending the other 24 million (14 this year, but you get the point) on a bat that could actually hit.
Some of it might be injury. Yelich has had issues with that these last two years, and has clearly played through things. But a lot of it is probably just the universe telling Christian Yelich to not be a whiny little ass to Yu Darvish. You do that, the universe steals six sevenths of you. A lesson for us all.
I hope Yelich keeps being average so that for the next seven years we get to keep seeing the Brewers trot out a blender full of money to left field, just as I’m sure they’ve enjoyed seeing the Cubs trot a blender full of money out to right field these last six seasons.
Nobody needs help facing you, Christian.
