NEWSLETTER
Good, good morning, friends. Treat yourself to Kris Bryant displaying his prodigious power:
It takes all kinds. I love watching Javier Baez hit a homer, because he swings so hard and destroys the ball. But I also love watching Kris Bryant hit a homer, because it looks so easy and smooth. Consider that homer up there: yes, the pitcher missed his spot (supposed to be down and in, and it was up and away), but Bryant simply puts a smooth swing on a pitch on the outer half, and it just flies out to right center. For how many players is that simply a lazy fly ball that doesn’t come within 80 feet of the wall?
Checking in on the fun that is Kris Bryant’s 10-game line, he’s gone .412/.545/1.029 over his last 10 games. How’s this for a slump? In his last four games, Bryant has gone 5-15 with a double, three homers, and three walks. *THAT’S THE DOWN PART OF HIS LAST 10 GAMES.* *YES I AM YELLING.* *BRYANT WAS BETTER THAN THAT IN THE SIX GAMES THAT CAME BEFORE.* *THAT IS INSANE.* *I LIKE CHEEZ-IT SNACK MIX!*
On the year, Bryant is hitting .348/.452/.692 with 18 homers, 15 doubles (and still no triples … #slack). His season OPS (1.143) only just now finally passed his career minor league OPS (1.119), which is a credit both to his AA season, and also what he did last year.
Perhaps the best compliment I can give: last year at AA, Javier Baez hit .294.346/.638 with 20 homers in 54 games. This year at AA, Bryant has hit .348/.452/.692 with 18 homers in 55 games. Bryant’s numbers are actually better.
(But, hey, don’t sleep on how crazy what Baez did was: he was a shortstop, and he did it at an age two years younger than Bryant is now.)
