Brewers: Christian Yelich off to hot start in opening series of 2024

The Brewers opened their season up with a three game sweep of the New York Mets. The offensive production got started with the bat of one player specifically, Christian Yelich.

In the top of the first of game one, Yelich went to the opposite field with a hard hit single. Yelich is coming off of a year in 2023 where he had the fifth most opposite field hits in baseball, so going the other way is right in his comfort zone. Although that at bat didn't end in any runs, when he came up in the fourth, he took running out of the equation. Yelich blasted his first home run of the campaign on a line drive over the right field wall. The solo shot definitely fired up the team and helped spark the Crew to an Opening Day win. Yelich wound up ripping another single in the fifth inning and finished the day 3-4 with six total bases.

Then in the second game, Yelich went 2-for-5 at the plate with an RBI. Yelich then walked twice in the series finale against the Mets. On the season, even though it's just three games, Yelich is hitting .455 with a 1.265 OPS.

Yelich is now entering his 12th season in the big leagues, and year number seven for the Milwaukee Brewers. Throughout his time in the league, he has had more ups and downs than any player in the game today. Yelich has shown he is capable of hitting .329 and winning an MVP. But, he has shown just as quickly the ability to lose it and bat .205 the next season. Yes, you heard that right. Yelich's batting average dropped a full .124 from 2019 to 2020.

The good news for Milwaukee is that since the Covid season, Yelich has only continued to get better year by year. Consistently showing improvements in his hitting. Grinding with one goal in mind; to get back into MVP form. In 2023, Yelich had by far his best year at the plate since 2019, as he slashed .278/.370/.447 while adding 3.6 Wins Above Replacement (WAR).

The importance of a healthy Christian Yelich is one of the most important things in keeping the Brewers successful this year. Yelich has dealt with his fair share of injuries the past couple of seasons, missing 45 games in 2021, and 18 games last year with a back injury. The health of Yelich this season specifically means even more, as at 32 years old, he comes in as the oldest position player on the Brewers opening day roster. Yelich's veteran presence is needed on the field every day to help the development of young talent on the team.

If Yelich stays healthy, he is more than capable of repeating what he flashed in 2018/19 and helping the Brewers advance deep into October. In those two seasons, Yelich led the entire league in WAR combining for an astounding 14.3 wins. Only time will tell, but Yelich certainly has shown he is capable of leading a team, and he'll look to do the same in 2024.