Chicago Cubs: Latest Kris Bryant trade rumors aren’t so bad

Chicago Cubs: Adding infield talent

There is a good chance that the Cubs would immediately accept an offer of Waters and Muller alone. However, to sweeten the pot for Bryant Chicago should ask for 21-year-old power-hitting first baseman Bryce Ball.

Ball is an intriguing young talent. The Braves landed him in the 24th round of the 2019 draft and since, Ball has mashed. He is 6’6″, 235 pounds, and has a sweet swing. After mashing at rookie ball, Ball was promoted to Class-A Rome. In 62 games between the two leagues, the big lefty slashed .329/.395/.628, 17 home runs, 52 RBI.

His patience at the plate shined through at rookie-level as Ball posted a respectable 17.3 percent strikeout rate and a 12.7 percent walk rate. As expected, the walks dropped as the strikeouts rose, yet Ball still managed a 22.2 percent strikeout rate at Class-A. He posted an insane 1.023 OPS and earned five intentional walks.

Ball’s best things are his ability to hit to all parts of the field and with power no less. He is mainly a pull hitter, where 45.5 percent of the balls he hit went to right field. Yet, his 25.8 percent center field percentage and 28.8 percent opposite field percentage should be followed.

In a small way, he reminds me of a young Cody Bellinger. Ball has a much more smooth drive through the zone with less flair at the plate, but he is a very talented young kid. As the future of Anthony Rizzo hangs in the balance at present, Ball would be the perfect addition to a team looking to build depth at otherwise weak positions outside of the starter.