Yelich would be higher were it not for an injury-shortened season
We’re continuing our rankings of the Brewers’ 10 most valuable players in 2024 with outfielder Christian Yelich. Yelich finished the season with 2.2 bWAR and 3.0 fWAR, good for ninth and fifth on the team, respectively.
Despite an injury-shortened season, Yelich still had arguably his best year since his 2019. He posted his second-highest WAR since that time, just behind his 2023 season, though he played in nearly half as many games (73 compared to 144 in 2023). His .315/.406/.504 line (151 OPS+), was also his best since 2019, when he had a 179 OPS+.
Only appearing in 73 games (48 in left field, the rest at DH), Yelich’s stats totaled 11 homers, 42 RBIs, 44 runs, 21 steals (in 22 attempts), 12 doubles, and three triples. Across a full 162-game season, that would come out to 24 homers, 93 RBIs, 98 runs, 47 steals, 27 doubles, and seven triples. Not bad for a 32-year-old.
While he didn’t qualify for Baseball Savant’s player value rankings, his small sample size was impressive. He ranked in top 25% (or better) in xwOBA (.376), xBA (.298), xSLG (.481), average exit velocity (91.1 mph), hard-hit rate (46.7%), bat speed (73.2 mph), chase rate (24.9%), strikeout rate (18.4%), and walk rate (12.7%). A former Gold Glove winner, Yelich’s defense has taken a step back, but he’s still an average fielder overall, and his 28.5 mph sprint speed ranks in the 80th percentile.
Beyond his play on the field, Yelich also provides a strong veteran presence for the team, and he’s clearly in contention for a future career as a broadcaster, front-office member, and/or coach, as you can see in this great article from the Journal Sentinel’s Curt Hogg back in September.
Now that Yelich got back surgery to (hopefully) alleviate the injury that has shelved him several times over the last few years, let’s hope he can turn in another strong, full season in 2025.
We’ll continue our rankings of the 10 most valuable Brewers each Monday and Wednesday into early December. Come back on Monday to see who we have at No. 6.
- Christian Yelich (2.2 bWAR, 3.0 fWAR)
- Joey Ortiz (2.7 bWAR, 3.1 fWAR)
- Trevor Megill (1.3 bWAR, 1.0 fWAR)
- Sal Frelick (2.1 bWAR, 1.5 fWAR)