Is Marlins outfielder Christian Yelich now hitting for power?

Ever since coming up to the big leagues in 2013, all Marlins outfielder Chrisitan Yelich has done is hit. 

In his first full season in 2014, Yelich hit for a .284/.362/.402 line with nine home runs, 54 RBI, and 21 stolen bases (caught seven times) in 660 plate appearances. He established himself as the perfect top of the order type for the Marlins and even brought him some hardware for his defense, earning Gold Glove honors. 

Yelich is just 24 now, but he is already well on his way in becoming one of the Majors' best players. 

In 39 games into Wednesday, Yelich was slashing .317/.422/.525 with five homers, 19 RBI, and three stolen bases (caught twice) in 166 plate appearances. He's already walked 24 times and struck out just 29.

Yelich's walk percentage (percent of plate appearances that end in a walk) is 14.5 percent, good for 19th in the Majors and his walks per strikeout is 0.88, good for 23rd. Overall, Yelich has a 1.5 fWAR, good for 22nd in baseball and the highest on the Marlins. 

Something that Yelich has begun to do this season is hit for power, as his .209 isolated power (average subtracted from slugging percentage) is well above his career average of .125 and his 2015 mark of .116. 

In fact, Yelich's isolated power this season is higher than some actual power hitters, including the likes of Miguel Sano, Edwin Encarnacion, Freddie Freeman, Carlos Correa, Maikel Franco, Miguel Cabrera, and others. 

Is this type of power from Yelich sustainable? Some data suggests that it's not. 

Yelich's home run per fly ball rate is a sky-high 23.8 percent, meaning that almost 24 out of every 100 fly balls Yelich hits will go for home runs. An average home run per fly ball rate is around 9.5 percent and an excellent one is considered to be around 20 percent. 

Considering Yelich's career home run per fly ball ratio is 14 percent, it's not likely that he will hit a lot of home runs. Yelich is, however, hitting more fly balls this season as compared to last and is making more hard contact, both of which could lead to more homers. 

And besides, why do the Marlins need Yelich to hit for more power anyway? He's already got four tools: hit, run, arm, and defense. And that is what is making him one of the best players in baseball. 

--Devan Fink

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