(670 The Score) It took Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant just 13 games this season to surpass his home run total from his woeful, injury-plagued 2020 season.
Bryant hit his fourth and fifth homers in the Cubs' rout of the Braves on Saturday, which exceeded the four homers he had in 36 games last season. Early on here in 2021, Bryant has responded an emphatic fashion after a season of adversity, hitting .265 with five homers, 10 RBIs and a 1.015 OPS in 14 games.
So what explains his newfound success? Mechanical adjustments and health, manager David Ross said on the Laurence Holmes Show on Tuesday afternoon.
"It's both," Ross said. "I think he was toying with some stuff, tinkering with some things in spring training. You know, everybody was worried about his spring training numbers and how he was driving the baseball. And I don't think anybody around the team was worried at all. This guy was putting into play what he worked on in the offseason, was trying that out in spring, getting comfortable, getting his timing down. And I think you're seeing both – a guy that's locked in mechanically, that's being aggressive that understands where he wants to attack the baseball and going out and doing it. A healthy version of him is going to be the best version. When you have little aches and pains and things that come up, it's just tough to play through. And I thought last year especially, he was never able to get into any consistent rhythm and consistent playing time because of the things he had popping up in such a short season and then trying to help the team win and have the at-bats, it was just sped up on him a little bit with all the bumps and bruises he had. So he looks like a guy that's really comfortable in his mechanics, comfortable in his approach and he's healthy."
Bryant has been one of the few bright spots for the Cubs in their ugly 6-9 start. The Cubs rank 28th in MLB in runs per game (3.4), last in batting average (.192), 23rd in OPS (.664) and 24th in OPS+ (85).
"The pitching was doing well early on, pretty good," Ross said. "The offense wasn't clicking, and then Atlanta comes in and the offense starts clicking and we don't pitch like we think we can. So at some point, those two will line up and we'll get on a roll."
