Kris Bryant has had a fantastic season. He's probably going to win Rookie of the Year in the National League as he's hit .273/.367/.490 with a .370 wOBA and 135 wRC+. He's struckout a ton, but also has a very good walk rate for a rookie (11.7%) and he's hit 24 home runs while driving in 93. UZR rates him as a plus defender and using fWAR, he's had more than any position player on the Cubs (5.6 for Bryant, 5.4 for Anthony Rizzo). Kris Bryant's 2015 is one of the best rookie seasons in Cubs history.
I was curious how Bryant ranked among Cubs rookies historically. For that, I turned to Baseball Reference's Play Index. Like Myles, I also have a subscription.
Baseball Reference uses a difference fielding metric and calculates WAR differently. rWAR has him at 4.8. Bryant's 2015 season ranks 3rd among Cubs rookies all-time in rWAR.
Jimmy Cooney had 5.3 rWAR in 1890 at the age of 24. Cooney was primarily a shortstop and apparently played some games behind the plate too. Bryant is 2nd all-time in franchise history in the MLB era. Only Charlie Hollocher's 1918 season is better. Hollocher was also a shortstop and he had 5.0 rWAR at the age of 22.
There's quite a bit of separation between these three players and the rest. Fourth best in Cubs history is Walt Moryn in 1956 and he was 30 years old. He had 3.7 rWAR.
Bryant's season may not quite be the best rookie season in Cubs history, but it's easily one of the best. More than than though, it's been a great season, rookie or otherwise.
You can check out the full list below.
| Player | WAR/pos | Year | Age | PA | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | Pos | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jimmy Cooney | 5.3 | 1890 | 24 | 653 | 114 | 156 | 19 | 10 | 4 | 52 | 73 | 23 | .272 | .360 | .361 | *6/2 |
| Charlie Hollocher | 5.0 | 1918 | 22 | 588 | 72 | 161 | 23 | 6 | 2 | 38 | 47 | 30 | .316 | .379 | .397 | *6 |
| Kris Bryant | 4.8 | 2015 | 23 | 589 | 80 | 138 | 28 | 5 | 24 | 93 | 69 | 182 | .273 | .367 | .490 | *5/978HD |
| Walt Moryn | 3.7 | 1956 | 30 | 589 | 69 | 151 | 27 | 3 | 23 | 67 | 50 | 67 | .285 | .348 | .478 | *9/H |
| Adolfo Phillips | 3.6 | 1966 | 24 | 473 | 68 | 109 | 29 | 1 | 16 | 36 | 43 | 135 | .262 | .348 | .452 | *8/H |
| Billy Herman | 3.5 | 1932 | 22 | 723 | 102 | 206 | 42 | 7 | 1 | 51 | 40 | 33 | .314 | .358 | .404 | *4 |
| Jim Doyle | 3.5 | 1911 | 29 | 533 | 69 | 133 | 23 | 12 | 5 | 62 | 40 | 54 | .282 | .340 | .413 | *5 |
| Joe Tinker | 3.5 | 1902 | 21 | 545 | 55 | 132 | 19 | 5 | 2 | 55 | 26 | 61 | .263 | .300 | .333 | *6/5 |
| Peanuts Lowrey | 3.4 | 1943 | 25 | 526 | 59 | 140 | 25 | 12 | 1 | 63 | 35 | 24 | .292 | .340 | .400 | *86/H4 |
| Geovany Soto (RoY-1st) | 3.3 | 2008 | 25 | 563 | 66 | 141 | 35 | 2 | 23 | 86 | 62 | 121 | .285 | .364 | .504 | *2/HD |
| George Grantham | 3.2 | 1923 | 23 | 666 | 81 | 160 | 36 | 8 | 8 | 70 | 71 | 92 | .281 | .360 | .414 | *4/H |
| Ray Grimes | 3.2 | 1921 | 27 | 621 | 91 | 170 | 38 | 6 | 6 | 79 | 70 | 55 | .321 | .406 | .449 | *3/H |
| Ryne Sandberg (RoY-6th) | 3.1 | 1982 | 22 | 687 | 103 | 172 | 33 | 5 | 7 | 54 | 36 | 90 | .271 | .312 | .372 | *54/H |
| Mel Hall (RoY-3rd) | 3.0 | 1983 | 22 | 458 | 60 | 116 | 23 | 5 | 17 | 56 | 42 | 101 | .283 | .352 | .488 | *8/H7 |
| Bill Dahlen | 3.0 | 1891 | 21 | 623 | 114 | 143 | 18 | 13 | 9 | 76 | 67 | 60 | .260 | .348 | .390 | *576/9 |
| Hack Miller | 2.9 | 1922 | 28 | 500 | 61 | 164 | 28 | 5 | 12 | 78 | 26 | 39 | .352 | .389 | .511 | *7/H9 |
| Addison Russell | 2.8 | 2015 | 21 | 476 | 55 | 105 | 26 | 1 | 13 | 49 | 35 | 140 | .241 | .301 | .395 | *46/H |
| Randy Jackson | 2.8 | 1951 | 25 | 609 | 78 | 153 | 24 | 6 | 16 | 76 | 47 | 44 | .275 | .332 | .425 | *5/H |
| Earl Webb | 2.7 | 1927 | 29 | 395 | 58 | 100 | 18 | 4 | 14 | 52 | 48 | 31 | .301 | .391 | .506 | *9H/7 |
| Bill Everitt | 2.6 | 1895 | 26 | 596 | 129 | 197 | 16 | 10 | 3 | 88 | 33 | 42 | .358 | .399 | .440 | *5/4 |
| Tom Burns | 2.5 | 1880 | 23 | 345 | 47 | 103 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 43 | 12 | 23 | .309 | .333 | .378 | *6/521 |
| Kevin Orie (RoY-11th) | 2.4 | 1997 | 24 | 418 | 40 | 100 | 23 | 5 | 8 | 44 | 39 | 57 | .275 | .350 | .431 | *5/H6 |
| Ernie Banks (RoY-2nd) | 2.4 | 1954 | 23 | 650 | 70 | 163 | 19 | 7 | 19 | 79 | 40 | 50 | .275 | .326 | .427 | *6 |
| Lou Stringer | 2.4 | 1941 | 24 | 581 | 59 | 126 | 31 | 4 | 5 | 53 | 59 | 86 | .246 | .324 | .352 | *4/6H |
| Davy Jones | 2.4 | 1902 | 22 | 295 | 41 | 74 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 38 | 37 | .305 | .399 | .379 | *89 |
| Player | WAR/pos | Year | Age | PA | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | Pos | |||
| Dwight Smith (RoY-2nd) | 2.3 | 1989 | 25 | 381 | 52 | 111 | 19 | 6 | 9 | 52 | 31 | 51 | .324 | .382 | .493 | *79H |
| Bill Madlock (RoY-3rd) | 2.3 | 1974 | 23 | 509 | 65 | 142 | 21 | 5 | 9 | 54 | 42 | 39 | .313 | .374 | .442 | *5/H |
| George Altman | 2.3 | 1959 | 26 | 467 | 54 | 103 | 14 | 4 | 12 | 47 | 34 | 80 | .245 | .312 | .383 | *8H/9 |
| Eddie Stanky | 2.3 | 1943 | 27 | 614 | 92 | 125 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 92 | 42 | .245 | .363 | .278 | *46/5 |
| Anthony Rizzo | 2.2 | 2012 | 22 | 368 | 44 | 96 | 15 | 0 | 15 | 48 | 27 | 62 | .285 | .342 | .463 | *3/H |
| Hector Villanueva | 2.2 | 1991 | 26 | 214 | 23 | 53 | 10 | 1 | 13 | 32 | 21 | 30 | .276 | .346 | .542 | *2H/3 |
| Andre Thornton | 2.2 | 1974 | 24 | 357 | 41 | 79 | 16 | 4 | 10 | 46 | 48 | 50 | .261 | .368 | .439 | *3H/5 |
| Randy Hundley (RoY-4th) | 2.2 | 1966 | 24 | 582 | 50 | 124 | 22 | 3 | 19 | 63 | 35 | 113 | .236 | .285 | .397 | *2 |
| Eddie Waitkus | 2.2 | 1946 | 26 | 472 | 50 | 134 | 24 | 5 | 4 | 55 | 23 | 14 | .304 | .340 | .408 | *3/H |
| Bill Bradley | 2.2 | 1900 | 22 | 483 | 63 | 125 | 21 | 8 | 5 | 49 | 27 | 61 | .282 | .330 | .399 | *53 |
| Dave Martinez | 2.1 | 1987 | 22 | 520 | 70 | 134 | 18 | 8 | 8 | 36 | 57 | 96 | .292 | .372 | .418 | *8H7/9 |
| Lennie Merullo | 2.1 | 1942 | 25 | 576 | 53 | 132 | 23 | 3 | 2 | 37 | 35 | 45 | .256 | .310 | .324 | *6 |
| Freddie Maguire | 2.1 | 1928 | 29 | 639 | 67 | 160 | 24 | 7 | 1 | 41 | 25 | 38 | .279 | .312 | .350 | *4/H |
| Sam Dungan | 2.1 | 1892 | 25 | 474 | 46 | 123 | 19 | 7 | 0 | 53 | 35 | 19 | .284 | .346 | .360 | *97 |
| Doug Glanville | 2.0 | 1997 | 26 | 510 | 79 | 142 | 22 | 5 | 4 | 35 | 24 | 46 | .300 | .333 | .392 | *78H/9 |
| Gene Baker | 2.0 | 1954 | 29 | 603 | 68 | 149 | 32 | 5 | 13 | 61 | 47 | 55 | .275 | .333 | .425 | *4/H |
| Jerome Walton (RoY-1st) | 1.9 | 1989 | 23 | 515 | 64 | 139 | 23 | 3 | 5 | 46 | 27 | 77 | .293 | .335 | .385 | *8/H |
| Toby Atwell | 1.9 | 1952 | 28 | 406 | 36 | 105 | 16 | 3 | 2 | 31 | 40 | 22 | .290 | .362 | .367 | *2/H |
| Kyle Schwarber | 1.8 | 2015 | 22 | 227 | 47 | 49 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 42 | 29 | 69 | .251 | .352 | .533 | *72/HD9 |
| Darwin Barney (RoY-7th) | 1.7 | 2011 | 25 | 571 | 66 | 146 | 23 | 6 | 2 | 43 | 22 | 67 | .276 | .313 | .353 | *4/H6 |
| Jim King | 1.7 | 1955 | 22 | 333 | 43 | 77 | 12 | 3 | 11 | 45 | 24 | 39 | .256 | .312 | .425 | *9H7 |
| Bill Serena (RoY-5th) | 1.7 | 1950 | 25 | 503 | 56 | 104 | 20 | 4 | 17 | 61 | 65 | 75 | .239 | .339 | .421 | *5/H |
| Harry Wolverton | 1.7 | 1899 | 25 | 442 | 50 | 111 | 14 | 11 | 1 | 49 | 30 | 14 | .285 | .350 | .386 | *5/6 |
| Bob Glenalvin | 1.7 | 1890 | 23 | 276 | 43 | 67 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 26 | 19 | 31 | .268 | .337 | .380 | *4 |
| Starlin Castro (RoY-5th) | 1.6 | 2010 | 20 | 506 | 53 | 139 | 31 | 5 | 3 | 41 | 29 | 71 | .300 | .347 | .408 | *6/H |
| Player | WAR/pos | Year | Age | PA | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | Pos |
sidebar gets pushed down below content. Scroll to the bottom of the page and back up until you find the top of the sidebar. There it is.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89Quote Reply
How the fuck did 5 people finish ahead of Ryno?
mylesQuote Reply
Adolfo!
GWQuote Reply
Yikes. Part of the infamous Rays 2011 draft class.
GWQuote Reply
I remember when Peanuts Lowery was a base coach for the Cubs. Always loved that name.
Suburbank IdQuote Reply
Him and Cookie Rojas, they were like fun snack mascots.
Suburbank IdQuote Reply
Suburbank Id,
How did you feel about Jimmy Cooney?
GWQuote Reply
Jimmy wasn’t from Burbank so fuck him. SK took his kids to see Cooney’s kids play in MLB.
dmick89Quote Reply
(dying laughing)
I may be old as dirt but inside I often feel like a naive kid. What exactly did Maddon mean when he said “we didn’t start it but we’re going to finish it”.
Seeing as he disparaged the beanball policing and the unwritten rules, it would be contradictory to retaliate in the same way.
I hope he just wanted to get in their heads and let them wonder. That’s all you should do (besides beating them on the scoreboard).
Suburbank IdQuote Reply
At first when I read that this morning I was really confused too, but then I realized that he probably did it just so both benches would be issued a warning prior to the game today. I think he was actually protecting his players.
dmick89Quote Reply
I could be completely wrong about that, but that’s what makes sense to me. It might be worth noting though that the Rays and Red Sox had some ugly fights over the years so Joe just might mean what he said.
dmick89Quote Reply
The old nicknames are so much better than the ones today.
dmick89Quote Reply
Kris Bryant Lyft commercial
baturkeyQuote Reply
baturkey,
That’s pretty funny.
dmick89Quote Reply
With all the uncertainty in the WAR stat, can we really say Bryant is better than Jerome Walton?
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Don’t think we know for sure yet. I feel fairly confident saying it, but I’m not positive.
dmick89Quote Reply
@GW – are you still watching Rectify? Based on the viewership there aren’t many who are unfortunately.
dmick89Quote Reply
Things have really broken the Cubs way lately. Anthony Rizzo turns into a yearly MVP candidate, Arreita goes from 5th starter to Cy Young candidate, and Bryant is the greatest rookie ever. It’s an odd feeling. Joy, maybe?
MillertimeQuote Reply
It could go either way.
MillertimeQuote Reply
dmick89,
I haven’t watched the current season yet. It’s on my DVR. I really liked season 2, but not the way it ended. Felt like they were unnaturally stretching it out.
Thumbs up from you for season 3, I take it?
GWQuote Reply
Could be. HarryPav on twitter thinks it wasn’t a beanball warning but rather a brawl warning.
Suburbank IdQuote Reply
I loved the first season and really liked the second, but it was definitely drawn out a bit more than it needed to be. Not Kurt Sutter style by any means, but it’s probably best at 6 episodes per season. I thought the third season was one of the best seasons of tv I’d seen. I’m anxious to get your thoughts on it when you’re finished, but I know you’ve got a lot of things going on. I thought it was the best season of tv since Breaking Bad’s final season.
dmick89Quote Reply
The Cubs are trying to pick up a game on the Pirates over the next couple weeks. Would they really want to risk some 5-game suspensions from some of their players? The Cardinals have the advantage in this one. The Cubs shouldn’t risk it in my opinion. Just play it clean and keep all your players available so you can do your best to catch Pittsburgh. That’s what I hope anyway.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
I thought he meant we are going to end it by being the bigger man and not retaliating.
WaLiQuote Reply
WaLi,
Ditto.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
WHY THE FUCK DIDN”T ANYONE TELL ME IT WAS AN EARLY START
Suburbank IdQuote Reply
Suburbank Id,
It’s an early start
WaLiQuote Reply
Suburbank Id,
It’s an early start.
dmick89Quote Reply
How many times we have to tell ya?
dmick89Quote Reply
Cubs take an early lead in this early start.
dmick89Quote Reply
Pretty ugly 7-8-9 today
dmick89Quote Reply
Sorry for being so high maintenance lately. I found the login on the mobile. Although I can’t figure out the avatar situation. Gravatar wants me to sign up for WordPress, which wants me to choose a domain name and shit like that.
Suburbank IdQuote Reply
Len wanted to Oh Baby that Soler bomb but remembered he’s on Fox and had to play it down.
Also, on the Bryant one. HOLY SHIT
Suburbank IdQuote Reply
dmick89,
Is that why 6 is afraid of 7?
WaLiQuote Reply
http://obstructedview.net/wp-admin/profile.php
I added a local avatar plugin yesterday.
dmick89Quote Reply
I don’t see it: http://oi57.tinypic.com/vf83yt.jpg
Suburbank IdQuote Reply
Uh oh.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Damn it.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Cubs hitters will need to wear suits of armor tomorrow.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Crap
Suburbank IdQuote Reply
And a Cubes sighting. Finally. Wondered when we’d get one these again.
You know we’re not winning this now.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
Facepalm.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Who’s ready for a game-tying Piscotty double? I know I am.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
Is there any way to credit Addison Russell with the save there?
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Wow. Unbelievable play
dmick89Quote Reply
Holy shit I was sure that was a game tying hit.
Suburbank IdQuote Reply
Inverted M
berseliusQuote Reply
SK, you saw my link to the profile page where you can change your avatar, right? I was on the phone so I didn’t type much. Let me know if you have any issues.
dmick89Quote Reply
It won’t show up in WPA, but that’s at least a .5 in WPA in my book.
dmick89Quote Reply
Suburbank Id,
I don’t think it would have tied the game, since the runner was on first. It would have decreased Strop’s margin of error, though.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Yeah for some reason I thought there was a runner in scoring position.
Suburbank IdQuote Reply
Yeah, and I said above that I don’t see it and linked to a screenshot of my profile settings screen.
However, looking at my earlier comment it says “Your comment is awaiting moderation” so perhaps you missed that. Will this comment get through?
Suburbank IdQuote Reply
(dying laughing) that’s two comments that are “awaiting moderation”. Is it because of the link?
Suburbank IdQuote Reply
Apparently that avatar option doesn’t work. Not sure there are any alternatives other than using Gravatar.
dmick89Quote Reply
Try it now
dmick89Quote Reply
I would guess it’s because of the link, but I’m not entirely sure what’s blocking it. I got several little things done this morning on the site that I wanted to get done and have a few other things I want to get done yet tonight or tomorrow morning. Then I’ll figure that out. Sorry about that.
dmick89Quote Reply
I wish Purdue had a football team.
mylesQuote Reply
It works!
Suburbank IdQuote Reply
I’m kind of dreading watching Iowa tonight.
dmick89Quote Reply
The Giants are still having trouble with the DBacks. At this rate, the magic number will be down to zero in no time.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Assuming the Dbacks hold on, the Cubs could 0-14 the rest of the way and the Giants would have to go 11-3 due to the tiebreaker the Cubs hold over the Giants. Personally, I’m hoping for a bit better than an 0-14 finish.
dmick89Quote Reply
The Nationals could still beat the Cubs I guess if they did go 0-14 so never mind.
dmick89Quote Reply
Every team in the AL besides the A’s is closer to a playoff spot than The Giants.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
The AL actually has playoff spots up for grabs, while the NL is set in stone (and has been for a while).
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
The only real question for the NL is which park the Wild Card playoff will be played in.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Wisconsin only won by 25 smh
berseliusQuote Reply
At least you guys finally got ISU off your backs. I was checking the score last weekend to see if 20% of my twitter feed would be jumping off a cliff.
berseliusQuote Reply
Why isn’ t Billy Williams on this list?
tenacvolsQuote Reply
tenacvols,
I just realized his name is William Williams
WaLiQuote Reply
WaLi,
Actually, “Billy” is his birth name (full name: Billy Leo Williams). There was a William Williams in baseball, though: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Williams_%28right_fielder%29
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
I haven’t looked, but I’m guessing its defense-related. I’ll look in the morning.
dmick89Quote Reply
Rizzo the Rat,
Well I take back my realization then.
WaLiQuote Reply
Are there any current players who go by nicknames other than Scooter (lame) Gennett?
Suburbank IdQuote Reply
Suburbank Id,
Coco Crisp!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Oh yeah.
Suburbank IdQuote Reply
game thread up: http://obstructedview.net/games/cardinals-at-cubs-game-thread-9-20-15/
dmick89Quote Reply