In 2018, the Milwaukee Brewers added Christian Yelich through a trade with the Miami Marlins, and ever since then, they have been a contender.
They have made the postseason all but once since adding Yelich and he has been at the core of their success. He won National League MVP in 2018, and would have won it again in 2019 had he not fouled a ball off his kneecap late in the season. However, the 34-year-old is no longer in his prime.
He was an All-Star in 2024 and had a .794 OPS last season, so he is still a good player, but this season has been his worst as a big leaguer. He had a .692 OPS in the regular season, but has quietly had a good postseason. He is slashing .292/.370/.333 with three RBIs, two walks and two stolen bases in October. If the Brewers want to win the World Series, they'll need their captain to play like an MVP.
The Rays play a similar style of baseball as the Brewers, which means there could be a ton of action on the bases and a lot of balls will be put into play. The Brewers cannot afford to give away at-bats, and it's not an understatement to say that if Yelich gets hot, he is a game-changing player. The Brewers are expecting big things out of their best hitters like Jackson Chourio, William Contreras, Brice Turang and Jake Bauers. However, if they can get an MVP-esque week out of Yelich, they could really put the series away.
In the first two rounds, Pat Murphy benched Yelich, despite him being hot, against some tough left-handed starters. Part of that is because of how good Andrew Vaughn is, and they wanted to get him in the game. However, against the Rays, Yelich may not get much time off. The Rays' top four starters, Nick Martinez, Drew Rasmussen, Griffin Jax and Freddy Peralta, are all right-handed.
Murphy is going to leave Yelich in as the designated hitter against those guys, and if Yelich can stay hot, it could go a long way toward getting starters out of the game early. However, if he plays like he did in the regular seaosn, the Rays are not going to pay much attention to him.
Another benefit of Yelich specifically playing well is that it will create some opportunities for the pesky hitters behind him in the lineup. Sal Frelick, Garrett Mitchell, Luis Lara and Cooper Pratt have all had big moments in the postseason, and if Yelich can get on base in front of them, it will put more pressure on the pitcher and help the offense as a whole.
Obviously, the Brewers want every hitter to get hot for the World Series. However, Yelich stepping up could make the biggest impact in the series. Brewers fans would do anything to get one more MVP-type week out of the player whom many credit with starting the golden era of Brewers baseball.