Marlins outfielder Christian Yelich is an on-base beast
Christian Yelich is proving with his play that he deserves to be in the same conversation with Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, Manny Machado and Nolan Arenado as one of baseball’s bright young stars.
The Miami Marlins outfielder has reached base in each one of his 31 starts this season and his overall numbers, a .333/.449/.523 slash line, reflect his strong production. What’s most impressive about Yelich’s hitting profile is that he walks more than he strikes out. He has drawn 22 walks and struck out 20 times. That’s a great trait for a 24-year-old hitter still establishing himself in the major leagues to have.
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Where does that 31-game on-base streak rank in the game’s recent past? SB Nation’s Fish Stripes has the details:
Since the scoring environment has changed in 2010, 89 players have a streak of 29 or more games as a starter. Joey Votto’s top mark of 48 games is a big target, but once Yelich gets to 35 games, the company is a little more sparse. Only 36 players have made it to 35 games, and only 30 have gotten to 36. By the time you reach 40 games, just 17 names since 2010 have gotten on base consecutively in that many games.
You can watch Yelich and the Marlins take on the Milwaulee Brewers on Wednesday night in Yahoo Sports’ Free MLB Game of the Day. The game, which begins at 7:10 p.m. ET, can be streamed at Yahoo’s Sports Home, MLB index and video home.
It’s a great opportunity to see an up-and-coming player you may not know much about in action. Can he extend his on-base streak to 32 games? Oh, and one of Yelich’s teammates is Giancarlo Stanton. There’s always the potential Stanton is going to hit a ball over 450 feet. Yelich and Stanton are both worth the price of admission. For you, if you watch the game with us on Yahoo Sports, that price is free. Sounds like one sweet deal to us.
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Israel Fehr is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr
