Christian Yelich – Right Field, ~$500,000
Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
One of the more talented young pure contact hitters in the game today, Christian Yelich will hopefully only benefit even more from Ichiro Suzuki‘s influence on the Miami Marlins.
Courtesy of Fangraphs
Yelich puts the ball all over the field at a high line drive rate. A former first round draft pick, he reached the majors in his age 21 season and hit a respectable .288 in 240 at-bats. In his sophomore season he really stepped it up, slashing .284/.362/.402 with 21 stolen bases. A future batting title may just be in the cards for Yelich, but a few 20-20 seasons seem really attainable too as his power stroke continues to develop.
A left fielder by trade, Yelich’s 2014 Gold Glove at the position more than supports the notion he could hold down the No. 9 spot in just about any defense — including the one for this dream team. He also has logged 115.1 innings in center since 2013, so his versatility paired with his high contact from the left side of the plate provides ample traits that make him worthy of being a nice two-hitter in the batting order.