MLB Twitter debates who they would rather have between Cody Bellinger and Christian Yelich: "Definitely Bellinger!" "Yelich all day no contest"
Cody Bellinger and Christian Yelich took the baseball world by storm just a few years ago. Yelich won the National League MVP Award in 2018, and Bellinger did it the following year.
Shortly after that, both players would run into some trouble. That has seemingly disappeared as both players are surging this season, especially at the plate. This has led baseball Twitter to debate who they would rather have on their team.
Who would you rather have on your team right now?
(love that this is a fun debate again) https://t.co/OZJdGPN3eS
In 83 games, Yelich is slashing .286/.380/.450 with 10 home runs and 20 stolen bases. Bellinger is slashing .284/.341/.456 with seven home runs and 10 stolen bases through 54 games.
Both players have been huge for their team's success this season. The Brewers are second in the National League Central, sitting two games behind the Cincinnati Reds. While the Cubs have an under .500 record, they're just eight games out of first.
"Definitely Bellinger!" one fan tweeted.
@TalkinBaseball_ Definitely Bellinger!
"Yelich all day no contest" another fan tweeted.
@TalkinBaseball_ Yelich all day no contest
@TalkinBaseball_ Bellinger. He offers more defensive versatility and can still play CF at a high level.
@TalkinBaseball_ Yelich. OPS is a bit higher, with 3 more HRs, and a whopping 11 more swiped bags.
MLB Twitter is split on the topic. Some believe Cody Bellinger is the better player, while others think Christian Yelich's ability to steal bags makes him more dangerous.
@TalkinBaseball_ Yeli has the ability to swipe bags and great defense Cody can not swipe bags give me yeli
@TalkinBaseball_ This is tough, I haven’t watched much of the cubs this year but Ik Cody has made himself into and elite defender through the year, I am not in the business of saying whether somebody is overpaid or not, but we can probably all agree that Cody’s contract is a more favorable
@TalkinBaseball_ Bellinger’s xBA is .237. This means he has gotten extremely lucky and what he has done is not sustainable. Yelich, on the other hand, has an xBA of .300, indicating he has been somewhat unlucky.
@TalkinBaseball_ Bellinger. The gap in defense is extremely large
@TalkinBaseball_ Love to see these two getting recognition. But the answer is and always will be Yelich.
It's a tough debate, as both players have turned it around this season. It's great that these two players have found success after a few rocky seasons.
Cody Bellinger's and Christian Yelich's newfound success didn't happen magically
Cody Bellinger and Christian Yelich worked hard over the offseason to put themselves in this position. They knew they had more to offer to their teams and were certain they would show it this year.
Yelich has said he has worked on his batting stance and approach at the plate. He eliminated his leg kick and started using a toe-tap approach. He knew what he was doing wasn't working and needed to find a change. He changed his stance in May and has exploded at the plate since then.
For Bellinger, he has been tinkering with his stance since last season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He's been looking to get back to his former MVP ways.
Bellinger has entered the season more healthy than ever and is working on a one-year deal. This could give him the extra motivation to put all the pieces together. This isn't the first time an athlete has emerged during a contract year.
Watch for both sluggers to keep producing as we reach the second half.