Fact or Fiction: Chicago Cubs Kris Bryant still without a HR
That’s right folks, 44 at-bats registered in 2015 and not a single tater for Kris Bryant. The Chicago Cubs‘ much-hyped but recently more beleaguered prospect is yet to watch one of his connections sail effortlessly over an outfield fence. But just in-case you wanted to see one of his fly balls go a (pretty) far distance, I won’t leave you hanging.
That’s Bryant swinging on an 0-1 count and ripping a double to right-center field, showing strong command of opposite field power. It was second in distance to only this batted ball by Bryant, whose base running savvy allowed him to leg out a Little League home run of sorts:
So there you have it. Two doubles to the warning track is the farthest Bryant has batted a baseball in the big leagues so far this season. Excluding anything hit into foul territory, that is. Don’t believe me? Fine. Here is further proof:
Some home runs will come eventually, but how frequently? While the towering slugger remains homer-less, he is tied for the team lead in doubles with four and is slashing an impressive .318/.455/.409. All these are very good things. Good things indeed, considering Bryant made more than a few people anxious with his hitless Major League Baseball debut against the San Diego Padres on April 17 when he failed to reach base and struck out three times.
But while the man who hit nine home runs in only 40 spring at-bats waits to get the regular season monkey off his back, it’s of interest to note a few other scenarios surrounding the Cubs, Bryant and hitting home runs in general this year in MLB.
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For starters, a 5-foot-9 rookie in Toronto by the name of Devon Travis already has six dingers in 2015. Despite Bryant being a near unanimous preseason selection by pundits to be named NL ROY, I stand by my own prognostication that Joc Pederson of the Dodgers should and will win the award, though his teammate Alex Guerrero looks like he could give him a run for his money. Pederson currently boasts four home runs to his name in only 57 at-bats, while Guerrero has five in 26.
Then there are other rookies like Randal Grichuk and Dalton Pompey. Grichuk of the Cardinals has only 86 career minor league home runs in six full seasons spent there. That’s only 43 fewer than the number Bryant hit alone in 2014 between Double-A and Triple-A in a single year. Grichuk has a home run despite only getting 10 at-bats in this season. Pompey, another Blue Jays rookie, has gone deep twice. And he’s known more for his speed and glove, having never hit more than nine long shots in a single season at any minor league level dating back to 2010.
What does any of this have to do with Bryant? Well, not much. But it just goes to show how odd and yet at the same time remarkably puzzling the game of baseball can be. Now, let’s put the color commentary aside heading forward and focus strictly on Bryant and the Cubs, shall we?
Bryant is supposed to be the guy who causes home crowds to rise to their feet when he hits tape measure shots like Giancarlo Stanton. He is supposed to be the guy that fits perfectly into the No. 4 cleanup hitter slot on Joe Maddon‘s weekly lineup cards. He is the guy who is supposed to hit home runs.
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What’s the use of having a guy who has never hit an MLB home run bat cleanup? The Cubs so far in 2015 have hit Bryant there 12 times, Starlin Castro three times, Chris Coghlan three times and Miguel Montero twice. Coghlan is the only player in 20 ball games who has managed to go deep for the Cubbies out of the cleanup spot this season. Stunningly, he and Montero lead the team with three homers apiece. Yes, that’s the same Coghlan who was a former first round pick by the Florida Marlins and now has only 33 career home runs in 1861 at-bats.
I’m in no place to questions Maddon’s methods or lineups, but Bryant is not doing his job right now to a certain extent. Sure he could get hot and clobber 10 in the month of May. But what if another 44 at-bats pass by and he doesn’t get hot? Addison Russell hasn’t, but he has only one less extra base hit than Bryant and five fewer RBI while batting .179 out of mostly the No. 9 hole.
Bryant’s story thus far tells us that putting any real weight in Spring Training results can be a dangerous thing. Even some of the leagues best pitchers tinker with things in March, so don’t be fooled if or when they regularly get taken deep in a game that does not count. Bryant’s most impressive spring home run came of Felix Hernandez, who gave up three taters in the preseason and posted a 10.22 ERA.
Surprise! No one should care, because it’s likely not even Hernandez does, who gave up only 16 total home runs in 34 games from 2014 that actually counted. Aside from Jesse Hahn and Drew Pomeranz, Bryant’s other six home runs came against barely major leaguers. Translation — they were hit off career minor leaguers or grown men lacking the stuff necessary to keep them consistently competing with the best hitters in the world.
How many more at-bats will pass before Bryant begins to show us the kind of player he is? Make no mistake, the man has raw power. But so far that power has only translated well against spring ball and minor league pitching. Will Bryant end up being more of an Adam Dunn? Perhaps a late bloomer like Josh Donaldson is in the cards. Or maybe, he’ll become simply a power hitting platoon player against righties, as his split versus lefties is only .200/.333/.300 right now. A small sample size, sure, but try telling that to Pedro Alvarez (career .197 vs LHP, .247 vs RHP).
Kris Bryant has been much more selective at the plate since his debut game. His BB percentage of 18.2 is a good thing. His strikeout percentage of 23.6 is not, nor is his extra base hit percentage of 7.3. His AB:HR ratio is non-existent and is certainly a terrible thing to this point. But hey, at least that part can only get better from here on out. Even 18-year veteran and former five-time All-Star Larry Bowa socked a dinger once in every 561.2 career at-bats, folks.