MLB: Who is Kris Bryant?

In case you missed it, Chicago Cubs über-prospect Kris Bryant made his Major League debut Friday. So what’s the big deal? Who is Kris Bryant anyway?

In case you missed it, the Kris Bryant era is underway in Chicago.

The Cubs über-prospect made his highly anticipated Major League debut Friday in a day game at Wrigley Field. Under nearly impossible circumstances, Bryant played well at third base, but disappointed with an 0-for-4 performance at the plate with three strikeouts in his first three at bats against the San Diego Padres.

Late in the game, Bryant’s honeymoon period ended when some Cubs fans heckled him prior to his final plate appearance, a groundout. But things got better Saturday.

Though he’s made a name for himself as a home run hitter, Bryant recorded his first Major League hit with an off balance, broken-bat blooper to centerfield, which also resulted in his first RBI in the fifth inning. He also showed great patience with three walks in the team’s 7-6 11-inning victory.

.@KrisBryant_23 tied the game in the 5th with his first Major League hit and RBI.

Watch: http://t.co/L2ytEyo7pv pic.twitter.com/4MIhTtKqMi
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 18, 2015

Sunday, Bryant ended his first weekend in the big leagues with a 1-for-3 performance in Chicago’s 5-2 loss, giving him a nice, round, Hall of Fame worthy (if he maintains it for another 15 years) .300 batting average.

So what’s the big deal? Who is Kris Bryant anyway?

Who is Kris Bryant?

Born: Jan. 4, 1992 (23 Years Old)
6-foot-5, 215 pounds
Third Baseman
Bats: Right, Throws: Right
1^st Round, (2^nd Overall) in 2013

Simply put, Bryant is the most highly anticipated baseball prospect since Bryce Harper in 2011. He’s also the most highly anticipated member of the Chicago Cubs to debut since Mark Prior in May 2002, and he’s the centerpiece of the Cubs’ rebuilding efforts under club president Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer.

In other words, he’s the new symbol of hope for a franchise that has spent the last century waiting for next year.

Kris Bryant’s Road to Wrigley Field

A Las Vegas native, Bryant played college ball at the University of San Diego. Following two steady seasons, he exploded onto the national scene during a 2013 junior season in which he hit .329/.493/.820 with 31 home runs and 62 RBI in just 62 games.

Bryant was selected second overall by the Cubs in the 2013 First-Year Player Draft, behind only Mark Appel of the Houston Astros, and signed a deal that included a $6.7 million bonus, which was higher than anyone else in his draft class. His signing bonus stands as the third highest all-time behind Garritt Cole’s $8 million bonus deal from 2011, and Stephen Strasburg and Bubba Starling‘s $7.5 million in 2009 and 2011, respectively.

Apr 18, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant (17) hits a single during the eleventh inning against the San Diego Padres at Wrigley Field. Chicago won 7-6. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports /

Following a two-game professional debut with the Cubs’ Arizona League affiliate in July 2013, Bryant was promoted to Chicago’s short-season Class-A club in Boise.

There, the 6-foot-5, 215-pound slugger hit .354/.416/.692 with four homers and 16 RBI in 65 at bats across 18 games before being sent to Daytona in the High Class-A Florida State League. In 16 games in the pitcher-friendly FSL, Bryant hit five home runs in just 57 at bats.

Following the 2013 regular season, Bryant played in the prospect-heavy Arizona Fall League. He hit .364/.457/.727 with six homers and 17 RBI in 20 games for the Mesa Solar Sox and was named the league’s MVP.

In 2014, Bryant was invited to his first big league spring training and though he hit two home runs in 11 Cactus League games, struggled and posted a .111/.200/.444 slash in 18 at bats.

Minor League Stats:

181 Games
773 Plate Appearances
648 At Bats
212 Hits
.327 BA
.426 OBP
.667 SLG
.397 BABIP
55 HR
152 RBI
147 Runs
206 Strikeouts

Bryant was sent to Double-A Tennessee to begin the season and excelled. In 68 games, the right-handed hitter produced a .355/.458/.702 slash with 20 doubles, 22 home runs, 58 RBI. He also scored 61 runs for the Smokies. In mid-June, Bryant was promoted to Triple-A Iowa, where Bryant hit .295/.418/.619 with 21 home runs and 52 RBI in 70 games for the Iowa Cubs.

The 43 combined home runs were more than any other player in Minor League Baseball last season and earned Bryant the MiLB Joe Bauman Home Run Award. For most 22-year olds, such a dominant performance would have warranted a September call-up.

Instead, Bryant had to wait. More on that later.

During the off-season, Bryant was named the top prospect in the Cubs’ organization by a host of outlets, including Baseball America and MLB.com. With the hype machine revved up over the winter, Bryant responded with a sizzling Spring Training performance. In 14 Cactus League games, which included a few starts in left field, Bryant hit .425/.477/.1.175 with a Major League leading nine home runs (plus a tenth long ball in B game).

Of course, even Bryant’s red-hot performance this spring couldn’t save him from beginning the 2015 campaign in the Minors. And that’s an entirely different issue.

Kris Bryant Being Sent to Triple-A “A Bad Day for Baseball”

While the Cubs maintain Bryant need a little more time to develop, (and Theo Epstein reiterated it is a personal practice of his not to put a player on an Opening Day roster to make his big league debut), the obvious reason to delay the slugger’s debut was because it’s just good business.

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Because of Major League rules, Bryant would have been eligible to become a free agent in following the 2020 season had he made the Cubs’ Opening Day roster in 2015 and played a full six years in the big leagues.

By simply sending him to Triple-A for 12 days and delaying his time clock (because a full year is classified as 172 days according to the league’s collective bargaining agreement), the Cubs saved a full year of Bryant’s services before he is eligible to sign with any other club.

It’s nothing new and Kris Bryant is only the latest in a long list of hot shot prospects that spend a week or more in the minors for business purposes, but this time, the Major League Baseball Players Association blasted the decision in a statement released via Twitter:

"Today is a bad day for baseball. We all know that if Kris Bryant were a combination of the greatest players to play our great game, and perhaps he will be before it’s all said and done, the Cubs still would have made the decision they made today. This decision, and other similar decisions made by clubs will be addressed in litigation, bargaining or both."

Bryant’s agent, Scott Boras, reacted similarly:

"“You are damaging the ethics and brand of Major League Baseball,” Boras tells USA TODAY Sports. “Kris Bryant has extraordinary skills. Kris Bryant is a superstar. He has distinguished himself from all players at every level he’s played.“Everybody in baseball is saying he’s a major-league player ready for the big leagues. I have players call me. Executives call me. The Cubs’ people want him there. Everyone says, ‘They cannot send this guy down.’ It’s too obvious….“So stop saying this is the system. If this was a losing team, OK, it’s not prudent to bring him up. But Tom (Ricketts) talks about this team being ready to win now. And if you’re ready to win, you’ve got to give them every resource to do it.“The Cubs haven’t had a pennant since 1945, so why worry about something six years from now. Other owners, when given the choice, have done this. Why not give yourself a chance to win, too?”"

But now that Bryant has made it to Chicago, he, the MLBPA, Boras and baseball fans in Wrigleyville and beyond can just sit back and watch a budding superstar try to prove he’s worth the fuss.

What Does the Future Hold For Kris Bryant?

According to PECOTA projections, Bryant is expected to hit .260/.352/.514 with 32 home runs and 91 RBI with 81 runs scored across 144 games. That would likely make him the runaway winner of the Rookie of the Year Award, and would also place him among the best power-hitting rookies in Major League Baseball history.

Cubs Top Prospects Since 1996 (Baseball America)

1996 Brooks Kieschnick
1997 Kerry Wood
1998 Kerry Wood
1999 Corey Patterson
2000 Corey Patterson
2001 Corey Patterson
2002 Mark Prior
2003 Hee-Soep Choi
2004 Angel Guzman
2005 Brian Doprick
2006 Felix Pie
2007 Felix Pie
2008 Josh Vitters
2009 Josh Vitters
2010 Starlin Castro
2011 Chris Archer
2012 Brett Jackson
2013 Javier Baez
2014 Javier Baez
2015 Kris Bryant

Bryant’s projected batting average and RBIs aren’t close to those Ted Williams, Albert Pujols and Mike Piazza posted in their historic rookie campaigns, but hitting 32 home runs would be on par. Ken Griffey Jr. and Barry Bonds both only hit 16 homers in their first seasons. Willie Mays hit 20.

Of course, even if Bryant struggles, it doesn’t mean he (or the Cubs) are doomed.

Troy Tulowitzki and Matt Kemp also struck out three times in their Major League debut. Furthermore, Mike Trout, who is five months older than Bryant, hit .220/.281/.281 in 40 games in 2011, but has finished second in AL MVP voting twice and won the award last season.

Also, Bryant is just the top ranked player in what has become baseball’s top ranked farm system. After decades of largely disappointing prospects that failed to pan out in the long term, Epstein has built of of the largest collections of talent – not just in Chicago, but in baseball – in recent memory.

Highly touted players like Jorge Soler and Javier Baez beat Bryant to the big leagues while others like Addison Russell, Kyle Schwarber, C.J. Edwards, Billy McKinney and Albert Almora are on their way.

And things are looking up already. When Bryant made his debut, the Cubs were in first place in the NL Central. There’s hope that “next year” is finally here – and because of the talented crop of youngsters coming up through the minors, it could be here to stay.

Will Kris Bryant emerge as one of the best power hitters in the big leagues? Is he a Hall of Famer in the making? It’s far too early to tell, but he is one of the most highly anticipated prospects ever and more importantly, he’s the face of a new era of Chicago Cubs baseball.

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