David Ross has made his first big move as Cubs manager, as it sounds like Kris Bryant will be the team’s leadoff hitter to begin the 2020 season.
Bruce Levine from 670 The Score broke the news Wednesday morning.
The Cubs were awful at the leadoff position in 2019 and haven’t had a consistent answer at the top of the lineup since the start of the 2017 season. At first glance it’s an odd choice, but Bryant does have solid speed, is a great baserunner and he has great patience at the plate, recording an 11.9% walk rate in his career.
More importantly, Bryant wants to get the opportunity to be the leadoff man.
Bryant has drawn at least 74 walks in four of his five seasons with the Cubs, with a career high of 95 in 2017, boosting his OBP to .385.
Hopefully the Cubs have found their answer at leadoff.
UPDATE
It wasn’t set in stone that Bryant would be the leadoff man, but David Ross has committed to the move.
