Strat-O-Matic Baseball 365

After serving his required time in minors to satisfy avoidance of the super 2 and be under control for another year Bryant was called up.

Were the Cubs right he needed more seasoning? Early results in Chicago indicate they were indeed right he was not yet ready. 28 PAs already and not a single HR. Send him back to Iowa until he learns to hit.

Looking at the offensive stats for the Cubs right now.

Bryant has been so overmatched since being called up his OPS is barely above that of pitcher Hammel (1.143 to 1.125). In fact Hammel is outslugging Bryant .525 to .591. How embarrassing for Bryant. Got to be a blow to his confidence. How can they justify keeping him in Chicago and not sending him back to Iowa for more seasoning?

Interesting to note he is in the starting lineup today in CF! Perhaps an indication of how overstocked the Cubs are in third basemen. Of course they had to start him in Iowa his position was blocked by the mighty Herrera (.185 SLG) starting today and Mike Olt (.333 SLG).

I knew the Olt move was a bad decision in March:

l.strether wrote:There is no future for Mike Olt with the Cubs, and--considering his recent struggles--his getting it together is unlikely. The Cubs might pull the skinflint move and send send Bryant to AAA until June. However, considering the money they spent for Lester, and their decent chances to compete last year, that would be a foolish move that would rightfully incense most Cubs Fans and damage their chances.

When you're a legitimate playoff contender, you just don't sit a now-ready player of Bryant's sublime potential and talent for a player of middling talent and potential like Olt. And considering they also have one of the best hitting prospects in the minors--C/Lf Kyle Schwarber--tearing it up in AA, Olt's future with the Cubs is dim.

Your call on Olt is definitely dead on right. And I really hate to agree with you here because I was an Olt fan with high hopes when Olt was still a Rangers prospect tearing up AAA.

I know a lot of people scoff at Bryant and call his agent greedy for wanting him in Chicago from day one. Logic is he will get his millions. It is just a matter of when. But the Olt story is not only timely for this because he is there in the Cubs mix. It is timely and relevant because his career took a left turn on one pitch. He has not been the same since getting hit in winter ball. Same could happen to Bryant. And 6 months later nobody is going to care or remember.

Of course the real test is after he has made the rounds of the league and all the pitchers have seen him and there is a book on how to pitch to him. I always want to see how a player makes the adjustment after that. But I believe he is as close to sure thing as they come. I find it curious they played him in CF today, a position according to the Baseball Tonight crew he has never played. If they had played him in CF at Iowa I might have bought the company line they believed he still had something to work on.