2013 Draft Profile: Kris Bryant, 1B, San Diego

At 6’5 and 215 pounds, he is a solidly built individual but not bulky. He actually looks like he could add quite a bit of size if he ended up at 1B without ever having it affect him. His freshman year showed a glimpse of what could be as he hit .365/.482 /.599 while hitting 9 homers. That was an impressive start. He followed it up with a .366/.483/.671 season. He has been remarkably consistent. He added 14 homers as well, but the most impressive stat is his K/BB rate. It went from 55-33 as a freshman to 38-39 as a sophomore.

His power is his best asset. He can hit the ball out to all fields. I saw one game where he hit a low and away pitch 420 feet to right-center with ease. He is not a dead pull guy. His long loose and easy swing has gotten shorter, quicker and is much improved from his freshman season and even more from his high school days. It is now an average to above average hit tool. He has true star level potential with the bat. His arm is good and his defense should be an asset at 1B with some work.

While he has a chance to play 3B if a team was so inclined, he would not be a lock to stay there. He is a good but not a great athlete and would struggle with the quick lateral movement needed to succeed at the hot corner without a lot of work. He is not a fast or speedy guy but he isn’t a slug. He is a 40-45 runner and that will likely decrease as he bulks up and ages.

I haven’t seen any clear weaknesses in Bryant on the offensive side. He adapts throughout the game. He looks like he has a plan at the dish and takes advantage of mistakes. His biggest weakness is his defense but as long as the bat is there, that doesn’t matter. He looks like a lock first round pick and should go in the top 10.