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Kev's avatar

I think quite a few people knew. If I recall (and maybe I'm totally off here) the Cardinals wanted Yelich over Ozuna but he "wasn't available". I wanted them to get Yelich because he seemed a more complete player. Probably just another case of the Cards front office getting punked.

As for Yamamoto, two of those starts were against the Cards so I'd hold off on the Cy Young votes until he faces a lineup that can, you know, hit.....

Nato Coles's avatar

It was just a fantastic trade for the Brewers (though I hope Isan Diaz works out for the Feesh), and when coupled with the Cain signing to replace Brinson it was virtually painless. I don't know if Cain will put up another .800 OPS season but that defense alone will keep him in the lineup. And Yelich, man... wow! I just went to the Reds/Brewers game on Sunday. What kind of player hits a booming double (statcast says it left the bat at 110+mph) and goes one for five with an RBI and would consider that slightly mediocre day at the office? He's amazing!

RES's avatar

Two of the writers at Reds' stat-blog Reds Reporter were singing Yelich's praises and lobbying for him to be brought to Cincinnati back in Dec. 2017 / Jan. 2018, so clearly his development shouldn't be too big a surprise to (both of?) those fans following that blog.

stallmaniac's avatar

My friends and I, all die hard baseball fans, decided we were going to go to the pool qualifying games of the 2017 World Baseball Classic in Miami. The US team was stacked with superstars already (Arenado, Stanton, Posey, Goldschmidt, etc) but the guy I was raving to my friends about was Christian Yelich. I had been watching him for a year or so already, and he was quickly becoming one of my favorite players. And he was great during that series. Had several clutch hits. Now they all credit me for knowing about him after he blew up in 2018. I feel pretty proud of that.

kyle pellét's avatar

As an Angels fan, the only reason I followed the Marlins was that I had Yelich and Jose Fernandez early in fantasy. That team looked like it was going to be great for a while.

The note about a young Yelich tracking toward a batting title reminds me of how often I heard that about Howie Kendrick when he was a young player. He was good (and fans loved him), but he never got there.

invitro's avatar

Glad to see an article on Yelich.

Rob Smith's avatar

There was talk at the time that the Braves might get Yelich for some of their prospects. The Brewers outbid them. Can you imagine if the Braves outfield was Yelich, Acuna, and Austin Riley? They already have a 6 1/2 game lead in what was supposed to be a very tough division. You should write a few words about that.

invitro's avatar

I wrote here a years ago that the Braves were starting a new dynasty. I'm curious if the Atlanta fans know it. They had a championship offense last season. Now their offense is even better, and they have the pitching, or at least are halfway to having the pitching. I predict they win at least 4 of the next 5 division titles. I'm assuming that's saying something, given the hype that the Phillies got this offseason. :)