Brewers promote Wisconsin native to roster as All Star hits the IL

The long awaited roster decision on All Star outfielder Christian Yelich is finally here and it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. The Brewers will indeed place Yelich on the 10 day injured list with his low back issue.

To replace Yelich on the roster, the Brewers recalled Fredonia, WI native Owen Miller to the active roster.

Yelich got off to an incredible start this season, that was reminiscent of his MVP caliber 2018 and 2019 campaigns. He was hitting for average and power, lifting this Brewers lineup to heights that had long been hoped for. Now, just as quickly as he got back to his best self, Yelich goes down with back problems that have been recurring the last few years.

Yelich is hitting .333 in 39 ABs this year with five homers, 11 RBIs, and a 1.166 OPS while back in his more customary 3rd spot in the lineup. He last played early in the weekend series against Baltimore and now will be out for a little bit longer.

It's a tough blow but an unsurprising one for Yelich and the Brewers. Once he left with the back discomfort and was held out for several days, a placement on the IL felt inevitable despite the Brewers trying to push the decision back as much as possible. They could not delay any further and made the decision on Tuesday to put him on the IL.

Coming up to join the active roster in Yelich's place is Owen Miller, who was a big part of last year's club but lost out on a crowded infield roster battle this spring to players like Joey Ortiz, Oliver Dunn, and Andruw Monasterio. Miller also has some outfield versatility, which the Brewers could look to use while their infield is strong and the outfield is low on bodies. Yelich joins Garrett Mitchell as the starting outfielders on the injured list.

The 27 year old Miller was hitting .353 with an .865 OPS in 51 ABs with the Triple-A Nashville Sounds so far this year. He'll look to continue that hot stretch now that he's back in the big leagues.

Last season, in Miller's first year with the Brewers, he hit .261/.303/.371 with 17 doubles, five homers, and 13 stolen bases. That performance was buoyed by a fantastic month of May, where Miller hit .363 with a .995 OPS and four of his five homers. He fell off hard after that, ultimately starting just 10 games in the second half of the season.