Young Chicago Cubs slugger Kris Bryant dazzled by getting on base five times in Sunday's loss to the San Diego Padres, but it's the three strikeouts in his first two MLB games which have some baseball analysts worried.
Here's ESPN's David Schoenfield with his analysis of the biggest concern surrounding Bryant:
If there's a concern about Bryant's ability to become one of the best hitters in the game, it's the strikeouts. He fanned in 27.3 percent of his plate appearances in the minors, well above the averages in the two leagues he played in -- 18.7 percent in the Double-A Southern League and 19.8 percent in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. In the majors, the strikeout rate for non-pitchers in 2014 was 19.9 percent.
Assume a higher strikeout rate -- at least in the beginning -- as he faces tougher pitching, and you wonder what numbers Bryant will put up. The most productive hitters in the majors last year who struck out at least 30 percent of the time were two Astros, George Springer and Chris Carter, who hit .231 and .227 respectively, although they combined for 57 home runs in 802 at-bats.Mike Trout and Giancarlo Stanton, however, both fanned more than 26 percent of the time and were two of the best hitters in the game.
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