"The biggest surprise is how we've done a nice job seizing the strike zone on both sides of the ball," Epstein said. The pitching staff, in turn, has permitted the fewest walks in all of baseball. They are seeing the most pitches (3.99) of any team in the National League, drawing the fourth-most walks, and ranking third in on-base percentage. The Cubs, with an infield 25 years or younger, have been impressive with their maturity at the plate. But with all of the attention he's gotten, he's had to deal with more than most ever do before they make their major-league debut." Usually it's once around the league, and then they start to adjust. I've never seen a guy come in and seen fewer fastballs. "I feel for him," Epstein said, "especially the way he's been pitched. Monday, he became the youngest player to walk four times in a game within his first 16 games in 19 years. He has shown stunning plate discipline, walking 16 times with a. "We knew that if somebody could step into this market with the expectations and handle it, it would be him."īryant might be 23, but his maturity makes him seem like he's 53. "Kris is a guy that when we sat down with before the draft, we all said, "Wow, this guy is so impressive The way he sees himself. He could be a September call-up if the Cubs are in the pennant race. 1 pick.Īnd perhaps the best hitter of all might be catcher Kyle Schwarber, the No.4 pick in the 2014 draft out of Indiana University.
2 pick in the 2013 draft, with the Houston Astrosproviding a huge favor by taking Stanford pitcher Mark Appelwith the No. Of course, there was the selection of Bryant with the No. And then, the crème de la crème in prized shortstop Addison Russell, arriving from the Oakland Athletics last July for starters Jeff Samardzijaand Jason Hammel(who has since returned to the Cubs). Along came starters Kyle Hendricksand Jake Arrieta. Rizzo was the first piece to Epstein's master plan of overhauling the Cubs. "Everybody wants to find the next superstar, put them up on billboards and everything else," Ross says, "but Rizzo is probably the least talked-about guy on our team." 530 slugging percentage - but is overlooked because he'll be 26 in August. You know it's getting crazy when Rizzo is having the best season of any Cub - hitting. "It's indicative of the attention these guys are getting now." "We hadn't even had to think about it in the past," Epstein said, "but with all of the autograph hounds out there, there's definitely a buzz around the team. The Cubs, who recognize the burden created by the surreal expectations surrounding Kris Bryantand their kiddie corps, have added security detail to the team.
"I've been really impressed how they handle themselves on a daily basis with all of these expectations.
#CUBS SHORTSTOP 2016 PROFESSIONAL#
"These guys are a lot more professional than I gave them credit for," says Cubs 38-year-old catcher David Ross, who is almost old enough to be several of his teammates' dad. Walking into the clubhouse Tuesday, the Cubs acted no differently than if they lost a game of checkers to their grandfather.
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