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Christian Yelich 2020 Outlook: Simply One Of The Best Players On The Board
5 years agoChristian Yelich posted another outstanding campaign in 2019, slashing a ludicrous .329/.429/.671 with 44 HR and 30 SB despite a knee cap fracture that prevented him from playing much of a role in September. Coming off an MVP award in 2018, skeptics were quick to point out that Yelich probably wouldn't maintain his 35% HR/FB over a second full season. They were right: it fell all the way to 32.8%. More importantly, he finally added loft to his swing with a 35.9 FB% (29% in '18). His Statcast power indicators were exceptional, as both his average airborne exit velocity (96.7 mph) and rate of Barrels per Batted Ball Event (15.8%) stand out as elite. Yelich also posted a .355 BABIP that's right in line with his career mark of .358, so nearly every advanced metric is pointing to a repeat. Statcast's expected metrics say that Yelich overachieved somewhat in 2019, but his .313 xBA and .622 xSLG are still first-round caliber. With his tremendous power, strong batting average, and insane success rate on the bases (94%!), Yelich is an absolute fantasy monster who deserves his 2.22 ADP and serious consideration as the number-one pick in 2020 redraft leagues. If you're lucky enough to draft him, use him well.
