Kris Bryant is NL Rookie of the Month and Possible HR Derby Participant and Other Bullets

kris bryant cubs battingIt’s a travel day, so I’ll be in and out. Although there will be plenty around here to read, there’s a chance I might be a touch slow on anything breaking throughout the day.

  • If you need something to smile about today, how about Kris Bryant being named the NL’s Rookie of the Month for May. On the month, Bryant hit .265/.369/.510 (.380 wOBA, 140 wRC+) with 7 homers, 20 runs, 22 RBI, a couple doubles and a triple. May it be the first of many such awards for Bryant, and also may he continue to be a force for good on the Cubs’ offense in June. They need it.
  • Something else that would be worth a smile: Bryant in the Home Run Derby. He says he’d be into it if the call came, but he’s not getting ahead of himself since the event is still a month and a half away (ESPN). Given his natural uppercut swing, Bryant’s not worried about it messing with his game at all (and you shouldn’t worry about that, either). If he plays in the Derby, just enjoy it.
  • Bryant also had good things to say about Javier Baez playing third base down at Iowa (ESPN), and he’s, of course, willing to move around as necessary to accommodate maximum bats in the lineup. In that same article, Joe Maddon comments on the Baez move, but he remains mum on whether it signals anything more than just adding to Baez’s versatility.
  • If you missed the shenanigans last night, here’s the video and the discussion on Junior Lake’s homer and the ensuing kerfuffle.
  • Luke mentioned it in the Minor League Daily, but, given my previous musings on how the Cubs could start utilizing their young arms as multi-inning relievers, I wanted to point it out here, too: Corey Black has moved to the bullpen at Tennessee, and his first outing yesterday was a dominant two innings.
  • This isn’t necessarily new to you, but I was just so struck by it last night watching Baez on MiLB.tv that I will share these here, too:
  • Don’t forget to sign up for the DraftKings contest, which runs tomorrow and has a $250,000 prize pool!

    written by

    Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

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