Kris Bryant Selected to NL All-Star Team

The meteoric rise of former San Diego Torero Kris Bryant continued on Monday as he was named to the 2015 National League All-Star roster in his first MLB season.  Despite being a late call-up due to the Cubs wanting to delay his service time, Bryant has been tearing the cover off the ball on his way to earning this well-deserved spot among baseball’s best.

After dominating WCC pitchers on his way to the 2013 Golden Spikes award in college and flying through the minor leagues, Bryant has not slowed down one bit since being called up to the Cubs earlier this season.  Through 71 games played, Bryant boasts very impressive numbers for a rookie.  His 12 home runs and 49 RBI are among the top 100 players in the league, and with 8 stolen bases he’s become a dual-threat.

His end-of-season numbers could surpass 20 home runs, 100 RBI, and 15 stolen bases, which would make him already one of the best all-around players in the league.  He is a runaway top contender for NL Rookie of the Year, with only Joc Pederson of the Dodgers as a serious threat to him at this point.  Pederson and Bryant are the only two NL rookies on the All-Star roster.

Bryant is listed as an injury replacement for Giancarlo Stanton of the Marlins, but you have to figure he had a good shot to be named a reserve anyway.  And even if he had ended up in the NL Final Vote, the strength of Cubs nation probably would have gotten him into the game.

Whether Bryant will make it into the game is less than a sure thing.  Most guys get into the game, but Bryant is towards the back-end of the roster despite all his success.  But either way, this was a great achievement considering he’s a rookie who missed the first couple weeks of the season.  There just hasn’t been a single step of his development process where Bryant hasn’t founds success.  So don’t expect this to be his last All-Star appearance.