On a team that’s desperately searching for some real talent, the Chicago Cubs have a future superstar in third baseman Kris Bryant.
At just 21 years old, Bryant was selected with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2013 MLB draft out of the University of San Diego. Mark Appel, the incredibly talented pitcher out of Standord, was the only player drafted ahead of him.
There’s no denying that Bryant is a truly special talent. During his time in the minors, he appeared in 49 games with four different minor league teams in 2013, hitting .309 with 15 home runs and 49 runs batted in.
Bryant has blown up even more in the Arizona Fall League. Through 13 games so far, he’s hitting .389 while leading the league with six home runs and 17 RBI. He has an impressive .870 slugging percentage and 1.313 OPS.
There are a number of people that have been impressed with Bryant, including Arizona Diamondbacks announcer Steve Berthiaume, who was present at one of his recent games.
The Cubs are going to need a star player at some point. They have a few exciting emerging pitchers on the current roster, but there’s a severe lack of talent on the rest of the depth chart.
At third base, the Cubs have David Murphy and Luis Valbuena right now, and neither of them have been very impressive. Neither player did much in 2013, combining for just 23 home runs, 60 RBI and 57 runs scored.
As a hitter, Bryant is the ideal power hitter. He crushes inside pitches, and with his massive 6’5” frame, he uses his size to his advantage when hitting. He has some great bat speed and surprising discipline for a younger hitter and also possesses some very deceptive speed for his size.
Defensively, Bryant’s biggest asset is his powerful arm. He has the ideal combination of arm strength and accuracy, which means he could play at either third base or in the outfield at the major league level.
The current concern is with Bryant’s frame, with there being a chance that he may outgrow third base and move into the outfield. The good news is that he’s flexible and quick enough to work around this.
Based off of what we’ve seen so far, Bryant looks ready to move up at some point in 2014 or 2015 at the latest. Once he gets called up, he will quickly become the next star player that the Cubs have been looking for over the past few seasons.
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