Kris Bryant had his “welcome to the big leagues” moment, and it wasn’t pretty.
The highly touted prospect finally joined the Chicago Cubs on Friday after controversially beginning the season with Triple-A Iowa, and he batted cleanup at Wrigley Field against the San Diego Padres.
Here’s his first MLB at-bat in the first inning:
Yikes.
Keep in mind, though, that Bryant was facing James Shields, a former All-Star with over 1,600 career strikeouts. Shields struck out Bryant two more times, and after the 23-year-old’s third K in the fifth inning, Cubs fans started to get a bit restless.
Yes, that’s a fan yelling “You suck!” to a player who hit nine homers in 14 games this spring training and more or less is the future of the franchise.
Bryant finally put wood on the ball in the seventh by grounding into a fielder’s choice, but he finished 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in the Cubs’ 5-4 loss.
What the top prospect couldn’t do at the plate, though, he made up for in the field, starting a double play in the first inning and making a diving catch on a line drive in the fifth.
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Bryant clearly is an exciting player who has a bright future in front of him. For now, though, he’ll have to deal with the enormous expectations that Chicago fans already have placed on him.
Thumbnail photo via Jerry Lai/USA TODAY Sports Images
