Yelich not worried about HR Derby ruining swing: 'It's batting practice'

Christian Yelich is confident his swing won't be impacted by Monday's Home Run Derby.

"Basically, (the) Home Run Derby is batting practice," the Milwaukee Brewers star said Thursday, according to ESPN. "It's just trying to hit home runs with every swing. I'm not worried in the slightest about a swing change or it ruining my swing. Anybody that's educated in the manner understands it's going to be just fine.

"It's batting practice. Each round is four minutes. How much damage can you do to your swing in four minutes? It's 12 total minutes if you go all the way.

Yelich, this season's home run leader (31), is the No. 1 seed in the event at Progressive Field in Cleveland and doesn't think there's any correlation between taking part and a decline in performance.

"Whether the second half goes good or bad for me, (participating in the Home Run Derby) will have no bearing on it," Yelich said. "If this was such a dangerous thing to do for your performance, guys wouldn't do it."

The 27-year-old took some practice hacks in Pittsburgh on Friday and it appears he's already done some real damage ahead of the derby:

The reigning NL MVP referenced Bryce Harper's winning performance in 2018 as he discussed the perception the event can hurt a player's swing - and why that's a myth.

"(Harper) had a better swing in the second half than he did in the first half," Yelich said. "... It's a fun event. I'm going to have fun. It's something for the fans to enjoy. They all really like it. I'm going to go out and have a good time.

"You obviously want to go out and perform and do well and put on a good show. We'll see how it goes. It'll be a good time."

Yelich is only five round-trippers away from matching the career-high 36 he hit last year. If he continues to mash the ball as he has in the first half of the 2019 campaign, the two-time All-Star could become just the ninth player ever to hit 60 in a season and the first since 2001.