Christian Yelich Needs the Milwaukee Brewers Fan Base Now More Than Ever

Image courtesy of IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Brewers Video

There has been an increasing subcurrent of unease around Christian Yelich in July. He's struggled since the start of June, slashing .220/.317/.340, and has struggled to replicate the impact he had last year. Matt Trueblood wrote a fantastic piece earlier in the year dissecting Yelich's swing path, specifically his struggles with the down-and-in breaking ball, which is worth a read if you haven't seen it already. The lack of production is tough to see for the franchise cornerstone, who's dealt with a lot since signing his seven-year extension with the Brewers in terms of injury, form, and expectation.

Christian Yelich isn't playing with confidence right now. The swing looks hesitant, the timing is inconsistent, and frustration has started to spill over from the stands. But if the Brewers want to get the best version of their veteran DH, support—not criticism-is probably the better answer. He talked about this exact thing in an interview with the Midwest Legends podcast:

Going through a confidence crisis is nothing a veteran hitter hasn't faced before. Yelich dealt with a lot of the same struggles in trying to live up to his MVP form from 2020-2023, before finally finding some semblance of his old self in 2024 and 2025. He'll never be that player again, as age and injury will limit his ability to do such destructive damage across the strike zone, but that doesn't mean Yelich can't go through bursts of power as we've seen across those other down seasons.

Christian Yelich's swing is one of the oddest in baseball, with a lot of moving parts. It's a swing that puts a lot of torque through his lower back, from his hip coil, his load, getting his foot down, to releasing the barrel; Yelich has a lot of quirks within his swing that typically mean he'll be up and down in nature. That has been amplified this season as age and potentially back mobility have caught up to him. We have still seen signs earlier in the season, however, that, when on time, Yelich can be a difference maker.

In the Brewers' first series of the season against the White Sox, Yelich pinch hit down one run, two men on, two out in the bottom of the eighth inning. Then this happened - a majestic, 111.1 mph home run to right field. Exactly the type of home run that usually indicates Yelich is feeling on time.

He's also been absolutely fine as the strong side of a platoon this season. Yes, the swing and miss is a little higher than we're used to, but his swing decisions and exit velocities have been strong enough to justify DH-ing consistently at that position. His expected weighted on-base average is about league average, but it's startling to see the difference in contact quality between when Yelich faces left- or right-handed pitching (NB his OPS splits do not reflect the difference in at-bat quality, as you can see below. Don't @ me on this.)

Confidence plays a big role in baseball. We've seen that with Joey Ortiz. I have a feeling we're about to see it with Jackson Chourio. You have no time to think as a hitter; it's incredibly reactionary in the box, so if you don't have the courage of your convictions, the whole process can look ugly in a hurry. Placing Yelich in situations where he can succeed more consistently is a good place to start. With confidence will come lower body tension, better timing, and perhaps (as we saw with Ortiz) better bat speed.

I'd also point out that, against right-handers, his expected weighted on-base average on contact has ticked up month by month, and was .447 in July per Savant. He's taking these fastballs to opposite field, which limits some of his damage with the lower exit velocities we're seeing this season, but it is rising despite July being his roughest month of the year.

The point of this article is to show that Christian Yelich is not a washed-up baseball player. There are signs of the old star still in there, and he can still be a productive member of this team in a slightly more restricted role. With a bit of confidence, he's also the kind of bat who can really step up and carry this offense for a week.

Yelich was given some boo's from the crowd last night, and Murphy had this to say:

This is Milwaukee's man. He's going to figure out a way to be productive, as he's done every season of his career. A little fan support can go a long way towards that (if in doubt, see Trea Turner and the Phillies fanbase in 2024). These guys care about Milwaukee. They care about the Brewers. Yelich took a discounted deal to stay here in 2019, and the fan base pressure will be adding to that tension, not helping remove it.

He's earned that support. Few players have carried this franchise the way Yelich has, and while he may never again be an MVP, he can still be an important part of a winning Brewers team. If confidence is part of what's holding him back, the crowd has a chance to help instead of hinder.