The Chicago Cubs have received a great deal of praise over the past calendar year for their defense, and it’s with good reason that they’re constantly lauded for what they achieve with the leather. This is especially true of the infield. When you’re talking about a group that includes Gold Glover Anthony Rizzo, a player […]
Tag: Kris Bryant
Kris Bryant’s Latest Adjustment
It goes without saying at this point that Kris Bryant’s sophomore campaign was a remarkable one, and in several different respects. He built on a historic rookie season by not only improving his first-year statistics, but blowing away his output in almost every single regard despite notching only 49 more plate appearances than the previous […]
Cold Takes on Cubs’ PECOTA Projections
It’s nigh time we indulge in one of the late offseason’s finest traditions: the ceremonial handwringing over projections! Baseball Prospectus released its 2017 PECOTA projections, and, as always, there are some interesting quirks that deserve some cursory inspection. So, let’s get right to it. You can access the Cubs’ full projections on Baseball Prospectus’ main […]
Do the Cubs Have Any Viable Extension Candidates?
On Monday, news broke that the Royals had signed Danny Duffy, 28, to a five-year extension worth $65 million dollars. Coming off by far the best year of his career (Duffy put up 3.8 WARP and a cFIP of 91), the Royals locked him up to what seems to be a fairly team-friendly deal. Duffy—who […]
Player Profile: Kris Bryant
Position: Third base…or wherever 2016 Stats: .292/.385/.554, .350 TAv, 9.1 WARP Year in Review: Kris Bryant has made a habit of landing on short lists. So short, in fact, they only include his name. He did it on June 27 in Cincinnati, becoming the first player in history to hit three home runs and two […]
Kris Bryant’s Playoff Retrospective: Power And Baserunning
It’s a testament to how entertaining and excellent Javy Baez and Jon Lester were during the 2016 NLDS and NLCS that they not only were able to overcome the initial sluggish postseason starts by Anthony Rizzo and Addison Russell, but were also able to nearly completely overshadow Kris Bryant’s solid postseason performance up to that […]
Playoff Prospectus: Of Errors, Common and Uncommon
This piece, written by BP Wrigleyville’s Rian Watt, forms part of the main site’s comprehensive coverage of the postseason, “Playoff Prospectus”. Errors are not the best way to measure a fielder’s quality. You know that. I know you know that. But still, here’s a fact for you: Kris Bryant committed just 14 errors all season, […]
Life at the Margins: Kris Bryant’s Changing Changes
This piece originally ran on the main site. We hope you enjoy a preview here. Kris Bryant never made much secret of the fact that he liked to hit the ball in the air. “I liked hitting home runs when I was little,” he told the Chicago Tribune last year. “To do that, you have […]
Kris Bryant: Most Improved (!) Player?
We’ve all been captivated by Kris Bryant in a number of different ways this season. His baserunning has been oustanding; he’s collected 4.3 BRR this year, good for 17th best in all of baseball. His athleticism and defensive versatility fit perfectly with Joe Maddon’s mad-scientist tendencies on defense. His defensive ability at third base has […]
Rizzo vs. Bryant for MVP and Comparing Apples to Oranges
They’re best friends. They’re baseball superstars. They have a satirical souvenir company named after them. They are one of baseball’s best and favorite tandems. And they are currently up against each other in the NL MVP race. They are Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant. Though it was just over a year ago, it’s hard to remember […]