Chicago Cubs: Previewing this weekend’s series with Reviewing the Brew

Chicago Cubs: Reigning NL MVP off to a scorching start

Entering Friday’s series opener, Christian Yelich shows no signs of slowing down. He carried his historic finish to the 2018 season into 2019, hitting four home runs in the team’s first four contests. In Milwaukee’s first seven contests, the outfielder boasts an unthinkable 1.531 OPS – the fifth-best mark in all of Major League Baseball.

Q: There’s no way Christian Yelich keeps this up all season… right?

A: Well he’s already fallen off the 162 home run pace, unfortunately, but I think he can keep this up for the whole season for the most part. He won’t hit home runs every single game, but Yelich is the real deal. The second half of 2018 was not so much a “career year” as it was a “breakout campaign”. Yelich is just 27 years old, and I think he’s just getting better.

Call me a homer if you like, but with his swing, his approach at the plate, and his mentality, Yelich has the ability to repeat as NL MVP and improve his numbers. Pitchers will work around him a lot more this season, but mistakes will still be made and he’s proven to be able to make them pay for that.

Ryan Braun said it best the other day, “I think everybody should take the time to appreciate it because what we’re witnessing is greatness”. He may not be able to do it on a Mike Trout level for basically a whole decade, but he’s coming pretty close. This is his prime, and if there was ever a year where he could keep this up for a whole season, it’d be this year.

Well, that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. The guy who almost singlehandedly took down the Cubs last summer is firing on all cylinders and shows no signs of slowing down.