Yelich feels healthy in return to action

PHOENIX -- Christian Yelich went a full week without appearing in a Cactus League game before tallying two hits against the D-backs on Friday. There’s nothing to see here, manager Craig Counsell said.

Yelich said the same. He’s good.

“If the season started today, I feel like I’d be ready to go,” Yelich said.

That’s good news for Brewers fans, who were starting to worry about not seeing Yelich in a box score since March 12.

“He hit [Thursday],” Counsell told reporters earlier Friday morning. “I was looking for you guys so you wouldn’t panic, but you weren’t there. He’s fine. There’s points of the schedule -- we got going earlier this year. I think his work’s been good, and sometimes his work trumps what happens in the game in Spring Training for me. We’ve got a good stretch of games left where he can get plenty of plate appearances. So, we just gave him a little break.”

Yelich had a productive return to the lineup in the Brewers’ game at American Family Field. He hit a loud double to the right-center-field gap off Arizona left-hander Caleb Smith in the first inning, then singled off Smith in the third. Yelich played five innings of defense in left field and was two hitters away from a third at-bat when the bottom of the fifth inning ended, and he called it a day.

The Brewers’ priorities for Yelich this spring are simple: Get their best hitter to Opening Day feeling good about his swing and, above all, healthy. With 11 exhibition games remaining, he has logged 13 at-bats in seven games, a lighter playing schedule than previous springs after Yelich logged 50 at-bats in 20 games during his first spring with the Brewers in 2018 and 43 at-bats in 17 games in ‘19.

As Counsell noted, however, that does not mean Yelich has been idle.

When he finds something he wants to work on, Yelich often pairs with hitting coach Andy Haines for marathon, high-intensity pregame sessions, during which Yelich takes hundreds of swings. He had one such session on Monday and was scratched from that day’s lineup against the Padres out of an abundance of caution, said Counsell, who did say Yelich had a touch of back tightness -- an occasional problem for Yelich over the years -- but nothing that would sideline him during the regular season.

“I want him to feel good, and I think that’s what’s happening right now,” Counsell said. “I think some game at-bats as we get closer to the season will help him there. But I think his health and just understanding what we’re entering into with all these players -- really, 162 games -- and just minimizing risk of injury whenever we can.”

Yelich and right fielder Avisaíl García were on the field Friday morning for defensive work in their respective outfield corners before they each started the game against the D-backs.

As far as hitting, Haines said he was “super excited” about where Yelich is at.

“He looks like Christian up there, regardless of where the balls went or whatever in 11 at-bats,” Haines said last weekend. “There could not have been any other thing I’d love to see out of Christian as far as, like, peace of mind, knowing what he needs to do. You can kind of see his tempo and things, how he’s seeing the ball and just his passes at the ball regardless of the result. The passes he’s taking, kind of like, I flinch. They can turn the game.

“Just speaking for all our hitters, I’m generally excited for them. That doesn’t mean we think it’s going to be easy by any means, but I do feel so much optimism for so many of our guys for where they should be right now.”

Haines and Yelich go way back to Class A Greensboro in 2010, when Yelich was a first-year pro in the Marlins' system. The Brewers hired Haines as hitting coach in November 2018, about two weeks before Yelich was named the National League Most Valuable Player Award winner.

“I mean, you like the game action, but I’ve always liked slowing things down and getting my work in and just trying to hone in on things I want to feel and accomplish in my work,” Yelich said. “I’ve kind of been doing that with Andy the last few days. I think he really understands me as a hitter and a player, and we’ve got a great relationship. Just staying on top of stuff.”

If he logs fewer at-bats than a typical Spring Training, he is OK with that?

“Yeah, I’m good. I feel like I’ll definitely be ready to go for the year,” Yelich said. “If I need more at-bats, I’ll get more at-bats. We’re able to find a way to do that. I’m not concerned as much about the total as being healthy and prepared and ready to go.”