Truth be told, I had never heard of Kris Bryant before today.
Brady Phelps, the prolific blogger of random cultural ephemera and all things Padres at LobShots.com, tweeted this dreamy photo of the Torero slugger this morning, along with an AP note that Bryant “has outhomered 227 of 296 teams in Div I.” Bryant’s 30 homers in 54 games is tied for the 11th-highest total in NCAA history, per AP.
That’s a lot of dinger-hitting. Especially considering the days of aluminum bats in college baseball are past.
Bryant’s proficiency is already legend among baseball-scouting types nationwide, despite his relative local anonymity. In April, the AP wrote him up for his “Ruthian homer” that helped put him in the conversation to be the top pick in the upcoming MLB draft.
An NCAA.com story from May 10 discussed Bryant under the headline, “All the tools.” Scouting site The Fantasy Fix says he’s progressed “from an excellent player to a great one to a historic one.” Their scouting report notes that the 6’5″, 215 pound Bryant “is long-limbed, still a little lanky, with room to add more muscle to his frame.”
Bryant’s slash line (batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage) is a ridiculous .338/.496/.715. He leads Division I baseball in home runs, walks, runs and total bases.
He’s not done adding to his gaudy stats. USD is currently playing in the West Coast Conference tournament in Stockton, where it hopes to succeed and move on to the NCAA Tournament.
Now I know the name Kris Bryant. Quite a few more people will know it soon.