Christian Yelich is a promising first baseman from Westlake High School in Westlake Village, California, a town just outside of Thousand Oaks. Yelich entered the draft season as a solid top ten rounds prospect, but the scouting community figured that he would be better off going to college, where he could develop his tools and become a top prospect three years from now. However, he’s taken a huge step forward this spring, and he’s now looking like the top overall first base prospect available in the draft. A left-handed hitter, he has all the tools to become a first-division starter at first base at the next level, and even though he’s not going to be a left-handed hitting Albert Pujols, there’s plenty of reasons to believe that he’ll be a successful Major League player. At the plate, he features an above-average hit tool and solid-average raw power, and he could be the type of player that hits .300 with 15-20 home run power every year. He’s flashed a little more raw power than that at times, but the consensus is that he will settle into that range, as his swing isn’t geared for power, but more for doubles in the gaps. Interestingly enough, he’s also a solid-average runner with good overall athleticism, and while he could become a plus defender at first, a below-average arm limits him to either first base or left field in the pros, with first base being the more likely destination. Being a projectable bat in a class lacking them, he could easily go somewhere in the top 50 picks, but he fits better for talent in the second or third round, where he should be signable away from his Miami commitment.
