In the 2019 season, Cody Bellinger slashed .305/.406/.629 with 47 home runs, 115 RBI and 15 stolen bases in 156 games. At the same time, Christian Yelich played 130 games and batted .329/.429/.671 with 44 home runs, 97 RBI and 30 stolen bases. These two players each had a great 2019 season. But, there is only one NL MVP winner. Cody Bellinger was named the 2019 NL MVP and Christian Yelich finished 2nd in the 2019 NL MVP voting. Back then, it seemed that these two players would be the most dangerous hitters in the league.
However, after the 2019 season, things have not been the same.
In 2019, Cody Bellinger had 170 hits over 156 games. At the same time, Christian Yelich collected 161 hits in 130 games. Nonetheless, over the last two seasons, Cody Bellinger had only 103 hits in 151 games. Meanwhile, Yelich played 175 games and had 140 hits. We all know that the 2020 season was a shortened season. Nevertheless, it’s quite obvious that over the last two seasons, these two players didn’t collect as many hits as they did in 2019. Additionally, Bellinger’s OPS was only .642 and Yelich’s OPS was .752. Back in 2019, these two players each posted an OPS over 1.000. Furthermore, looking at home runs and RBI, we can clearly say that these two players were just less productive over the last two seasons. Over the last two seasons, Cody Bellinger and Christian Yelich didn’t perform as well as they did in the 2019 season. In the 2022 season, do they bounce back?
By far this season, Cody Bellinger played 125 games for the Dodgers. Now, he hits .201/.261/.379 with 17 home runs and 57 RBI. Moreover, Bellinger has 12 stolen bases. In the meantime, Christian Yelich now bats .259/.360/.390 with 12 home runs and 52 RBI over 134 games. Yelich has 16 swipes. Well, Cody Bellinger’s OPS is below .700, which is just not good. Yelich now has an OPS of .750, which isn’t very bad. However, we have to remember that Yelich’s OPS was 1.100 in 2019. We can see the huge difference. Thus, it’s quite obvious that these two players didn’t hit as excellent as they did in 2019. These two stars are not the same as we saw in 2019. Christian Yelich inked a contract extension with the Brewers in 2020 and he’s going to be with the Brewers for a quite while. However, Yelich already turned 30 and his performance hasn’t been great since 2019. By far, it’s quite clear that the long-term contract doesn’t seem to be a great one. At the same time, Cody Bellinger is now 27 years old. But, looking at his performance over these three seasons, it might not be easy for the Dodgers to offer a long-term deal to Bellinger. After this season, it will be quite interesting to see the Dodgers front office’s decision on Cody Bellinger. Furthermore, Bellinger will be a free agent after the 2023 season. Well, it might be just too early to say whether Bellinger will be able to secure a long-term deal. Let’s just see whether he can contribute to the Dodgers a little bit more at the end of this season or in the postseason.
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