Chicago Cubs: Quit with the Kris Bryant pessimism, Cubs fans

Chicago Cubs: First adversities for the Cubs star

Considering how maturely and eloquently Bryant has handled himself as a member of the organization, it is sometimes easy to forget that he is only 26 years old. His whole persona is built on consistency, from the influence of his father, Mike Bryant, to marrying his high school sweetheart.

His playing career has been no different. Bryant hardly missed a game at San Diego University, and missed just 21 games from 2015 to 17, establishing himself as an everyday superstar almost as soon as he was called up from Triple-A Iowa in April 2015.

This season, Bryant missed nearly three times the number of games as he had in the last three years combined. Likewise, Bryant was hit by a pitch 17 times this season, just one off of his 2016 total but in 242 fewer plate appearances. That takes a toll on a player not just physically, but psychologically, as well.

Take last year’s NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton, for example. In September 2014, Stanton was hit in the face by a pitch, causing him to miss the rest of the season. In late June 2015, he was hit by another pitch that led to a shattered wrist and ended his season. The 2016 season saw Stanton post career-lows in both batting average and on-base percentage while the slugger struck out in nearly 30 percent of his plate appearances.

But in 2017, Stanton posted one of the most historic seasons on record with 59 homers and 132 RBI while playing in a career-high 159 games, proving that injuries are merely an obstacle.

This is Bryant’s first real brush with adversity, but given his makeup and talent, there is no reason why he cannot respond in a similar fashion to Stanton and return to MVP form.

Chicago Cubs: Bote over Bryant? Get real

Many fans have become enamored with David Bote for his late-game heroics and knack for being a defensive stalwart at the hot corner. However, his talent level does not stack up to Kris Bryant.

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Last week, I wrote about Bote’s concerning deficiencies at the plate. For someone with as high a strikeout rate as Bote (28.6 percent), he has an alarmingly low isolated power number (.168) according to FanGraphs.

While Bryant’s shoulder injuries caused a dip in his isolated power this season, he posted a .262 and .242 average in that category in 2016 and 2017, respectively while simultaneously decreasing his strikeout rate.

Bryant is also superior to Bote in leveraged situations, according to Baseball-Reference.

And despite his struggles in the field this season, Bryant is hardly a slouch at the hot corner as evidenced by his positive defensive runs saved (DRS) margins in 2016 and 2017 and his 7.7 FanGraphs defensive value in 2016.

Bote is just one year younger than Bryant, so age is a non-factor. And, his pedigree and advanced metrics indicate, Bryant has far greater upside.

Chicago Cubs: The Iapoce effect

It is important to remember that Bryant was a menace under former hitting coach John Mallee. Now that Mallee apostle Anthony Iapoce takes the reigns as the Cubs’ new hitting coach, we may see Bryant revamp the approach that made him so successful in his first three seasons.

Like Mallee, Iapoce is a proponent of “launch angle,” which is a notable component of Bryant’s power stroke. Carrie Muskat wrote in 2016 about his commitment to a more balanced swing that helped him become a tougher out while still retaining his power.

With Iapoce on board, Bryant will look to rediscover himself as a more balanced and dangerous hitter, and it would hardly be a stretch to say this subtle change may result in big gains.

Chicago Cubs: A better version of KB? It’s possible

As Bryant prepares for his fifth big league season, he remains as poised as anyone to improve.

The young slugger reflected on his disappointment in his post-game interview after the Wild Card loss to the Rockies, but was notably humble and determined in his tone:

Does that sound like a player who might fail to bounce back? Hardly.

On the contrary, given everything Bryant went through last season paired with an offseason that will be filled with mechanical adjustments and strengthening his shoulder, Bryant may be in the best position of any Cub hitter to bust out.

Bryant posted a 20.7 fWAR from 2015-17, trailing just Mike Trout and Josh Donaldson in that span. That statistic alone should speak to the immense value Bryant brings to the franchise and ensures that his star power should return in the near future.

So relax, Cubs fans, this is only the beginning.