Christian Yelich

Christian Yelich

Yelich batting for the Jupiter Hammerheads, advanced-A affiliates of the Marlins, in 2012
Miami Marlins – No. 21
Left fielder
Born: (1991-12-05) December 5, 1991
Thousand Oaks, California
Bats: Left Throws: Right
MLB debut
July 23, 2013, for the Miami Marlins
MLB statistics
(through 2016 season)
Batting average .293
Hits 549
Home runs 41
Runs batted in 212
Stolen bases 56
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Christian Stephen Yelich (born December 5, 1991) is an American professional baseball left fielder for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). Yelich was drafted out of high school by the Marlins in the 1st round (23rd overall) of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft. He stands 6 feet 3 inches and weighs 195 pounds.

Career

Yelich was born on December 5, 1991 in Thousand Oaks, California and attended Westlake High School.[1] During his freshman year he batted .373 with 25 hits and 16 strikeouts out of 67 at bats.[2] In his sophomore year he batted .341 with 31 hits and 24 strikeouts out of 91 at bats.[3] During Yelich's junior year he batted .489 and hit 46 times and struck out six times.[4] In his senior year he batted .451 with 37 hits, nine strikeouts and nine home runs out of 82 at bats.[5] He was awarded Second Team All-American by Max Preps and was ranked 34 among the top 100 players in the nation in high school.[6]

Yelich was offered a scholarship to play at the collegiate level with the Miami Hurricanes baseball team.[7] However, he was drafted by the Marlins 23rd overall in the 2010 Major League Baseball draft and agreed to a $1.7 million signing bonus on August 17, shortly before the deadline to sign 2010 draftees was about to pass.[8][9] Yelich played for the Gulf Coast League Marlins for six games, getting nine hits and seven strikeouts with a batting average of .375 before being advanced to Class-A. He played in six games for the Greensboro Grasshoppers in 2010, batting .348. In 2011, he batted .261 with 43 hits, six strikeouts and four home runs. Yelich was named the Marlins' Minor League Player of the Year in both 2011 and 2012.[10][11]

On July 23, 2013, the Marlins promoted Yelich to the major leagues from the Double-A Jacksonville Suns.[12][13] He had a fantastic 2014 season, batting .284 with 21 steals out of the leadoff spot for the Miami Marlins.[14] He also won a Gold Glove Award in left field, becoming the franchise's youngest ever player and first outfielder to win the award.[15][16][17] During the season, Yelich set a franchise record for fielding percentage in left field, at .996.[18] Yelich and the Marlins finalized a seven-year, $49.57 million contract extension on March 22, 2015.[19] He struggled to start the season, and was placed on the disabled list in April with lower back strain before making his return on May 8.[20][21] His batting average reached a season low of .178 on May 22.[22] In August, Yelich bruised his right knee and was again placed on the disabled list.[23] Yelich had improved from his earlier offensive struggles and was hitting .275/.343/.376 with six home runs, 29 RBIs and fourteen stolen bases up to that point in the season.[24][25] Despite aggravating the injury shortly after his return, Yelich remained an active player for the quality of his bat.[26][27] Near the end of the season, Yelich shared the field with Marcell Ozuna, the outfielder who had replaced him during his second stint on the disabled list.[28] Yelich closed the 2015 season with a .300 average.[22]

Yelich was projected to bat third to start 2016.[29] He hit well in that spot, and managed to increase his power output.[30][31] On April 23, in a game against the San Francisco Giants, Yelich hit three doubles, which tied a franchise record.[32] Defensively, Yelich was a starting outfielder, alongside Ozuna and Giancarlo Stanton.[33] In late May, Yelich missed some time due to back spasms.[34][35] After Stanton was placed on the disabled list, Ozuna played Stanton's usual position in right field, while Yelich took Ozuna's spot in center on days that backup outfielder Ichiro Suzuki was unavailable.[36]

Personal life

Yelich's surname is of Croatian origin. Yelich's maternal great-grandfather was American football player Fred Gehrke.[1] An uncle, Chris Yelich, played football for the UCLA Bruins.[37] Yelich is the eldest of three children; his brothers are Colin and Cameron.[38] Colin was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 2015 Major League Baseball draft.[39] Cameron is a United States Marine.[40][41]

References

  1. 1 2 Capozzi, Joe (February 9, 2013). "Miami Marlins outfield prospect Christian Yelich on path to majors". Palm Beach Post. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Christian Yelich Freshman Stats". Retrieved June 4, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Christian Yelich Sophomore Stats". Retrieved June 4, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Christian Yelich Junior Stats". Retrieved June 4, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Christian Yelich Senior Stats". Retrieved June 4, 2011.
  6. ↑ http://www.maxpreps.com/baseball-recruiting/baseball-spring-10/r2IdWSY1Ed-UswAcxJTdpg/2010-top-100-/top-recruits.htm
  7. ↑ Millian, Jorge (August 21, 2010). "Top pick Christian Yelich picked Marlins over UM". Palm Beach Post. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  8. ↑ Rodriguez, Juan C. (August 17, 2010). "Marlins, first-rounder Yelich agree just before deadline". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Marlins sign Yelich for $1.7 million bonus". USA Today. Associated Press. August 17, 2010. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  10. ↑ Duarte, Shaunte (March 30, 2012). "Marlins Top Prospects: #1 Christian Yelich". MILB.com. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  11. ↑ Rodriguez, Juan C. (September 29, 2012). "Marlins recognize top minor leaguers Yelich, Fernandez". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  12. ↑ Spencer, Clark (July 24, 2013). "Christian Yelich and Jake Marisnick called up to join the Marlins". Miami Herald. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Marlins call up two outfield prospects". ESPN.com. Associated Press. July 23, 2013. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  14. ↑ Fialkov, Harvey (July 3, 2015). "Christian Yelich returning to form". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  15. ↑ De Nicola, Christina (November 4, 2014). "Marlins left fielder Christian Yelich wins NL Gold Glove". Fox Sports. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  16. ↑ Navarro, Manny (November 4, 2014). "Miami Marlins outfielder Christian Yelich wins Gold Glove". Miami Herald. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  17. ↑ Frisaro, Joe (November 4, 2014). "Yelich first Marlins outfielder to win Gold Glove". MLB.com. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  18. ↑ Davis, Craig (November 3, 2014). "Marlins' Christian Yelich wins first Gold Glove". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  19. ↑ Frisaro, Joe (March 22, 2015). "Marlins lock up Yelich with seven-year pact". MLB.com. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  20. ↑ Navarro, Manny (April 24, 2015). "Miami Marlins left fielder Christian Yelich placed on disabled list". Miami Herald. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Marlins activate LF Christian Yelich off DL; Reid Brignac sent down". Sun Sentinel. May 8, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  22. 1 2 D'Angelo, Tom (February 22, 2016). "After hot 2015 finish, Christian Yelich doesn't want another cold start". Palm Beach Post. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  23. ↑ "Miami Marlins put Christian Yelich on disabled list". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. August 15, 2015. Archived from the original on August 15, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2016 – via ESPN.com.
  24. ↑ Wilaj, Steve (August 11, 2015). "Yelich day to day with right knee injury". MLB.com. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  25. ↑ Frisaro, Joe (August 14, 2015). "Knee swelling continues to hamper Yelich". MLB.com. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  26. ↑ Frisaro, Joe (August 28, 2015). "No DL stint, but Yelich likely to miss rest of trip". MLB.com. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  27. ↑ Frisaro, Joe (August 30, 2015). "Yelich to be handled carefully after pinch-hit". Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  28. ↑ Frisaro, Joe (September 2, 2015). "Yelich, Ozuna beginning to click for Marlins". MLB.com. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  29. ↑ Fernandez, Andre C. (March 31, 2016). "Marlins' Christian Yelich 'excited' about starting fresh in 2016". Miami Herald. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  30. ↑ Frisaro, Joe (June 18, 2016). "Yelich's power surfacing as No. 3 hitter". MLB.com. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  31. ↑ Putterman, Alex (May 14, 2016). "Yelich finding pop in his bat this season". MLB.com. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  32. ↑ Frisaro, Joe (April 23, 2016). "Yelich's double trio not enough for Marlins". MLB.com. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  33. ↑ Bloom, Barry M. (April 13, 2016). "Tough for Ichiro to crack Marlins' talented outfield". MLB.com. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  34. ↑ Frisaro, Joe (May 22, 2016). "Ichiro, 42, wows with 4 hits in Marlins' win". MLB.com. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  35. ↑ Frisaro, Joe (May 22, 2016). "Yelich, Giancarlo not being rushed back". MLB.com. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  36. ↑ Healey, Tim (August 21, 2016). "Marlins option Brian Ellington to New Orleans to activate A.J. Ramos". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  37. ↑ Rodriguez, Juan C. (March 4, 2014). "Marlins notes: Yelich branches off family football tree". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  38. ↑ Frisaro, Joe (December 23, 2013). "Yelich shares his favorite holiday memories". MLB.com. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  39. ↑ Andrade, Jonathan (July 23, 2015). "Yelich is a name to remember". Thousand Oaks Acorn. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  40. ↑ Strang, Katie (July 2, 2016). "Marlins with military ties look forward to 'perfect weekend' at Fort Bragg". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  41. ↑ Frisaro, Joe (June 29, 2016). "Fort Bragg trip hits home for Yelich". MLB.com. Retrieved July 3, 2016.

External links

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