Miami Marlins Christian Yelich: Ready to Explode in 2016

The Miami Marlins signed Christian Yelich to a seven-year extension. The first year was good in some aspects, but he is ready to bounce back in 2016.

We all know who the Miami Marlins star hitter is. Unfortunately, he was hurt and the rest of the team could not pick up the slack. That is why the offense finished 29th in runs, HR and RBI last season. However, there are some bright spots in the lineup. One of them being outfielder Christian Yelich, who is ready to bounce back this season.

Yelich made his debut in 2013 and played in 62 games. He hit .288 with four home runs, 16 RBI and 10 steals. He had his best season last year when he had 165 hits, nine home runs, 54 RBI, 21 steals and a .284 average in 144 games.

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Before the 2015 season started, Christian Yelich and the Marlins agreed to a seven-year extension. The first season into that deal wasn’t the best. He played in 126 games and hit seven home runs and 47 RBI with 16 steals and a .300/.366/.416 line. Some of the numbers improved, like batting average and on-base percentage. Though, the hits and power numbers dropped a little.

He missed some time in August with a knee contusion. When he returned, he looked great. In the final 34 games, he hit .369/.427/.523 with 48 hits, 15 RBI and a 21:13 K:BB ratio. With the surge in the final month, he finished No. 36 among outfielders and No. 127 overall on the Player Rater.

Looking at the stats from 2014 to 2015, Christian Yelich remained pretty consistent. His strikeout and walk rates dropped 1.6 percent, His HR/FB went up one percent while his fly ball rate dropped 2.8 percent. These aren’t drastic drops in stats that can’t be recovered this season.

Yelich isn’t known for his power, but he has the ability to give you 10 home runs (even though he hasn’t yet) and 20 steals. Speed and power is becoming more common in baseball, but you still need to capitalize and draft a top-30 outfielder when you can.

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The Marlins offense can do some damage this season. With a healthy Giancarlo Stanton, and emerging J.T Realmuto and Justin Bour, Yelich can add to the scoring ability of this team. Hitting mostly in the top three spots in the lineup will give Yelich a lot of opportunities to get on base and score.

Projections: 160 hits, 10 home runs, 66 RBI, 16 steals, .290 average

Draft: Round 8