Milwaukee Brewers: The All-Star Case for Christian Yelich

There is no argument.

Barring an injury between now and the all-star game, there is no argument that merits keeping Yelich from representing the Milwaukee Brewers in Cleveland.

As stated, he’s been, by every conceivable metric, one of the best position players in Major League Baseball so far.

The only question regarding him is whether he’ll be the top vote-getter. Given that Bellinger currently edges him out in WAR, Bellinger may have a slight edge.

His offensive stats nearly match or exceed Yelich’s, but they’re coming with the best defense in the league too. Bellinger is first in MLB in Defensive WAR (1.7), thanks to his incredible range and arm in the outfield. He’s made several ridiculous plays in right field, including throwing out eight batters.

His Defensive Runs Saved in the outfield already is near many gold glove caliber players totals for an entire season (18). His total, for example, is just two below Lorenzo Cain’s MLB-leading total from last year (20) among outfielders.

Given that Bellinger plays in a larger market, has gotten considerable media attention for his feats so far this year, and has a slight edge in most metrics, it’s not hard to envision him edging Yelich as the leading vote-getter in the National League by voting’s end.

Regardless of that, however, Yelich should be one of the three starting outfielders representing the NL in a few weeks.