Fun With Numbers: Kris Bryant’s Professional Career

It might be hard to believe, but Kris Bryant was the Cubs first round pick in 2013, that’s right, last year.  With how much we talk about Bryant here, and on Twitter, you would think he has been around forever.  Well, there is good reason for it, Kris Bryant has turned himself into a super prospect.  Yesterday’s game with Iowa marked the 163rd professional game for Bryant, or one more game than your typical Major League regular season, let’s dive into Bryant’s stupid numbers.

 

All of these stats are totals from Bryant’s pro career (163 games)

Batting Average:  .336 (194-for-578)
Doubles:   48
Triples:  2
Home Runs:  50
RBI:  137
SB:  16
BB:  89
SO:  180

OBP:  .432
SLG:  .685
OPS:  1.117

Well, that’s absurd.  Even more disturbing is that Bryant started his professional career extremely slow.  In July of 2013 he only hit .220 with two home runs, and nine RBI’s (11 games).  Of Bryant’s 194 hits, 100 are for extra bases, he is a slugging machine.

Now, let’s focus on his 2014 season, which has him as a finalist for Minor League Player of the Year.

2014 Totals (Combined numbers from Tennessee and Iowa)

Batting Average:  .336 (151-for-450)
Doubles:   34
Triples:  0
Home Runs:  41
RBI:  105
SB:  15
BB:  78
SO:  145

OBP:  .444
SLG:  .684
OPS:  1.128

As Bryant faces better competition, he has better production across the board.  2013 is weighing down his OBP/OPS… which is to be expected to some extent seeing it was his first experience as a pro, and it came at the end of his College season.  The one thing that I take away from these stats is this, the strikeout rate.  A guy with Bryant’s power is going to have a certain amount of swing and miss in his game, but his K rate remains static as he ascends through the system, it’s like clockwork actually.

K rate for his career (based on plate appearances) – 26.2%
K rate in 2014 (based on plate appearances) – 26.8%

Breakdown of K rate in 2014 per month

April – 27.7%
May – 25.4%
June – 27.2%
July – 27.4%
August – 26.3%

I like seeing this, I think there might be an uptick in these numbers once he’s called up, but maybe not, everything I’ve seen so far indicates that he will sit at this rate rather consistently, and I’m okay with that if he’s hitting 40 home runs a year.  I don’t think Bryant will be called up this year, but early 2015 definitely makes sense, and will set the stage for the Cubs to be relevant again.

Kris Bryant Destroys Home Run Number 41 (VIDEO)

What a season for Kris Bryant, we’ll have a post about that shortly, but for now, enjoy his 41st(!!) home run of the season.

That friends, is a bomb.  Bryant just wears out center and right field, it’s a thing of beauty.

Hip, Hip…Jorge! Soler Mashes Another Homer (VIDEO)

The next super prospect to get the call to the Majors is going to be Jorge Soler, especially if he continues the tear that he is on.  Soler has been banged up for almost the last year and a half, but he has the look of someone that is back to 100%

Last night he had himself a huge game for Iowa, he went 2-for-3 with a double, his fifth Iowa home run, two walks, three RBI’s, and three runs scored.  The transition from level to level for Soler has been impressive in that there really hasn’t been one.  Seamless is a word that comes to mind, and because of this, I expect that Soler will be up with the big league club in right field on September first, if not sooner.

 

Javier Baez Has a Monster Game (VIDEO)

Javier Baez is doing everything the Cubs organization wants him too, and then some.  On Sunday, Baez went nuts, he hit two home runs, and walked twice, and has been showing increased patience at the plate of late.  That coupled with his second half resurgence has many fans ready (more so than usual) for Baez at Wrigley.

The first home run… a laser.

The second home run.. a towering shot.

 

Kris Bryant doing Kris Bryant Things (VIDEO)

Home run number 14 at Iowa for Kris Bryant.  After a mini-slump, Bryant has stormed back at the plate, which is a very good sign.  Sometimes young players can’t get themselves out of a funk, Bryant has been able to, at the highest minor league level.

 

Riding the Bus; Cubs Minor League Reports (7/28/2014)

It’s back!  Hopefully for good, technology can be a real…. you know what..

 

Full Box Score

  A huge night for the Smokies hitters in this one, as eight of the nine starters had at least one hit, and seven of the nine starters had at least one RBI.

At the Plate:

• Albert Almora finally had his break out game for the Smokies.  Almora was 4-for-6 with a double, two RBI’s, and three runs scored.
• Addison Russell continued his torrid pace of late, he went 4-for-6 as well, with a double, an RBI, and a run scored.
• Lars Anderson showed off his power in this one, he was 1-for-3 with a home run, two RBI’s, two walks, and two runs scored.
• Dustin Geiger had himself a game, he was 2-for-2 with a double, three RBI’s, three walks (CUBS WAY!), two runs scored, and a stolen base.

On the Mound:

• Eduardo Figueroa did just enough to walk away with the win, he worked six innings, giving up five runs on four hits, while walking three, and striking out four.
• Zach Cates also had to battle while not having his best stuff, he worked 1.2 innings, giving up two runs, on three hits, while walking one, and striking out two.
• Frank Batista shut the door on this one, picking up his eighth save, he worked 1.1 innings, giving up one run on three hits, while striking out one.

Full Box Score

It was the Juan Paniagua show in Daytona last night, as the recently promoted right hander twirled a gem as he picked up his first High A victory.

At the Plate:

• Jacob Hannemann has really performed well since being promoted to Daytona, he was 1-for-3 with a double, two walks, a stolen base, and two runs scored in the win.
• Willson Contreras had a big night, he was 3-for-5 with a double, and two RBI’s.
• Billy McKinney just hits, that is all he has done since being acquired in the Hammel/Samardzija trade with Oakland.  He was 2-for-5 with a double, and two RBI’s, he’s now hitting .312 on the season.
• Gioskar Amaya had another solid night out of the nine hole, he was 2-for-3 with a walk, and a run scored.

On the Mound:

• Juan Paniagua was dominant in this one, he worked six scoreless innings, giving up two hits, while walking two, and striking out six.
• Tyler Bremer was brilliant out of the pen, he worked two scoreless innings, while striking out two.
• Austin Kirk mopped things up in the ninth, he worked a scoreless frame, while giving up one hit, and striking out one.

Full Box Score

The Cougars lost…… at…..home…..  I know, it totally doesn’t feel natural, like the Universe is out of tilt, I think we’ll survive.  The two best teams in the Midwest League went toe-to-toe, and the Whitecaps came out on top.

At the Plate:

• Shawon Dunston is heating up, he went 2-for-5 with two doubles (12 on the year), and an RBI.
• Will Remillard was one of the few Cougars to get on base multiple times, he went 1-for-3 with a walk.

On the Mound:

• Duary Torrez did everything he could to keep his team in the game, he finished his night with a no decision.  Torrez worked six innings, giving up one run on five hits, while walking one, and striking out four.
• Michael Heesch struggled with his command in this one, he worked three innings, giving up one run on two hits, while walking three (see?), and striking out three.

Full Box Score

The Boise Hawks just couldn’t get the bats going in this one, as they could only manage one run on five hits in a 6-1 loss to the Hops.

At the Plate:

• Danny Canela was one of the few Hawks to find some success, he was 1-for-4 with a double, he’s now hitting .281 on the season.
• Danny Lockhart, David Bote, Jesse Hodges, and Bryant Flete all had one hit in the loss, all singles.

On the Mound:

• Trevor Clifton got the start for the Hawks, and struggled throughout as he suffered his second loss of the season.  Clifton worked 3.2 innings, giving up five runs, four earned, on six hits, while walking four, and striking out three.
• Yomar Morel didn’t have much luck either out of the pen, he worked 1.1 innings, giving up one run on two hits, while walking one, and striking out one.
• Tommy Thorpe was brilliant, he worked three perfect innings, registering two strikeouts.

Full Box Score

Plenty of offense for the Cubs in this one, unfortunately the pitching was lacking.  The D-backs pounded out twelve hits en route to a 12-6 victory over the Cubs Arizona League squad.

At the Plate:

• Kevonte Mitchell can swing it, he was 3-for-5 with a stolen base, an RBI, and two runs scored, he’s now hitting .317 on the season.
• Gleyber Torres  is someone you will be hearing a lot about moving forward, he was 3-for-4 with a triple (2nd of the season), a walk, two RBI’s, and a run scored.
• Roney Alcala had a solid game near the bottom of the order, he was 2-for-4 with a double, and a run scored in the loss.

On the Mound:

• C.J. Edwards was back on the mound as he continues his rehab, and he was pretty good.  Edwards worked 3.2 innings, giving up one run on one hit, while walking three, and striking out six.
• Adbert Alzolay struggled out of the pen, he worked one inning, giving up four runs on three hits, while walking one, and striking out two.
• Alberto Diaz couldn’t find the plate, and he paid for it.  Diaz worked only a third of an inning, giving up three runs, two earned, on one hit, while walking four (see?), and striking out one.
• Tanner Griggs was also beat up, he worked 2.1 innings, giving up four runs, three earned, on six hits, while walking two.
• Andin Diaz was solid, he worked 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit, and striking out two.

Jorge Soler Crushes First AAA Homer (VIDEO)

Soler’s first full week in Iowa came to a close with a bang yesterday as he destroyed a two run homer to dead center.  Soler has had a solid start at the AAA level, and could be the first of the big Cubs prospects (Not named Alcantara) to reach Wrigley Field this year.

Promotion City! Soler to Iowa; Almora to Tennessee

Things are getting very interesting…  The Cubs have announced that Jorge Soler is being promoted to Iowa, and Albert Almora is being promoted to Tennessee.

The Cubs prospects are getting closer and closer to the Majors, and I’m not even talking about Kris Bryant, or Javier Baez, or Addison Russell…  the light at the end of the tunnel is the brightest it has been since the building started.

Bryant, Soler, Baez….  all in the same lineup at Iowa.

Almora joins Russell in Tennesse…  exciting days ahead!

Prospect-Palooza!! Home Runs From Last Night (VIDEO)

Last night was just about perfect.  With no major league games on the schedule, the baseball World had its full attention on the Minor Leagues, and the Cubs’ kids put on quite the show.

Of course Javier Baez was involved, he hit an absolute monster shot.

Kris Bryant went deep earlier in the same game, pure power.

Jorge Soler, who has assaulted Southern League pitching also went deep last night, I’m pretty sure that’s why the game wasn’t televised, MILB didn’t want kids watching that massacre.  Addison Russell also smacked a home run, are you sensing a theme here?  Christian Villanueva went deep for the Smokies as well, everybody freak out!

Not to be undone, down in Daytona, Dan Vogelbach also crushed a home run.  So if you have lost count, let’s recap!

Baez HR

Bryant HR

Soler HR

Russell HR

Villanueva HR

Vogelbach HR

I’m sure there will be continued exciting nights at the minor league level, and soon enough this kind of excitement will be at the major league level.  I can’t wait.

Javier Baez Destroys Another Baseball (VIDEO)

Thanks to Nathan Bliss for getting this video up so quickly tonight.  Baez drilled a three run homer to left, that appeared to leave the stadium, rejoice!