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Fantasy Profile: Kris Bryant’s Debut

Kris Bryant didn't fare too well in his major league debut

Kris Bryant didn’t fare too well in his major league debut

Kris Bryant is a behemoth when it comes to baseball standards as he stands at 6’5″ and weighs in at 215 pounds. He bats right and throws right. In 2013 he was drafted second overall by the Chicago Cubs in the first round. The Cubs paid him a bonus of $6,708,400 which was the largest ever received by a college recruit. He was such an amazing minor league ball player that he won nearly every award presented. Bryant led the minors in home runs (43), extra-base hits (78), total bases (325), slugging (.661) and OPS (1.098) while reaching Triple-A in his first full pro season. There is no doubt that Bryant has all the tools to be one of the greatest hitters for this generation. He has an amazing bat swing speed+loft, and the build to take it deep. He has great patience to wait for the right pitch. He knows how to use his power in the right situation. While he may strike out, he won’t be an all-or-nothing type of hitter once he figures out major league pitching. He should be able to carry a good batting average with a solid on-base-percentage.

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Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 80 | Run: 50 | Arm: 60 | Field: 50 | Overall: 70

Don’t look for him to provide much on the base path, but his arm strength is above average. His height is not typically seen at the hot corner, but Bryant seams to make it work. He may be forced to take the outfield at some point with the influx of Cubs talent, but until then he is going to be their regular third baseman. In 2015 Bryant had a very successful spring training. He hit 9 home runs, with 15 RBI and 17 hits with a .435 batting average. He also struck out 14 times in 40 at-bats, taking just four walks.

Before making his debut, Bryant had 9 H, 3 HR, 7 R, 2 SB and a 1.042 OPS over 7 games at Triple-A this season.

Obviously the numbers only dictate that he can be successful in the highest level of the minors. Players have come up to the show and never duplicate their minor league totals. They are routinely sent down, to get better, but are never able to cross the line from Triple-A to Major League Baseball. With that, let’s take a look at Kris Bryant‘s debut.

If not going as planned, and learning on the job, are real indicators, those fit Bryant in his Opening Day performance at home in Chicago. Bryant hit fourth in the batting order, and took his first plate appearance in the first inning. Bryant was unsuccessful, striking out on three pitches. Two of the three strikes were change-ups, while the first he fouled off a cutter. In his next at-bat, he led off the fourth with another strikeout. This time he saw seven pitches, four change-ups, two fast baseballs (four-seam and two-seam) and a cutter. He fouled off two of the change-ups, one was called a ball, and the other was a swinging strike for his second strikeout of the game. The four-seamer went for the first strike, the two-seamer went for a ball, and the cutter also went for a ball. This was not entirely a bad at-bat for Bryant, as he was faced with several different types of pitches and worked the count full after having two strikes against him. It also showed he had great patience at the plate and a eye for the ball. His third at-bat he faced two-seam fastballs for strike one and ball one. He fouled back the next pitch (change-up), and swung on and missed for strike three on the cutter. In the bottom of the seventh inning he was able to get his fourth and final at-bat, this time against reliever David Thayer. Bryant was introduced with a four-seamer that was called a ball, then a four-seamer for a strike, and the third four-seamer went for a grounder to third baseman Will Middlebrooks for a force out at second base.

Bryant played well in the field. He had six opportunities, and converted all six into outs. Defensively it was a very good day, offensively he did what he could against the likes of a solid pitcher such as James Shields. Keep in mind none of this is who Kris Bryant is, due to the small sample size and facing the kind of pitcher he did. Bryant will continue to strikeout, and perhaps that will be his weakest area, but I do expect him to have many more successful plate appearances than failures. He definitely should be owned in all fantasy baseball rosters, in all types of leagues.

Mike Valverde is a correspondent for FantasyPros, and he also writes for Fantasy Sports Warehouse. You can follow Mike @RFLRedZone and Fantasy Sports Warehouse @FantasySportsWH.

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