MESA, Ariz. — Kris Bryant, the slugging third base prospect, started his day with practice in the outfield, continued it several hours later with a fielding error at third base, but in between hit his major-league-leading ninth official home run of the spring Tuesday against Oakland A’s left-hander Drew Pomeranz.
(Tenth home run if you count a B game homer against the Angels).
Nobody has hit more Cactus League homers in a spring over the past 10 seasons than Bryant, and only two in Florida’s Grapefruit League have hit more: Ryan Howard with 11 in 2006 and 10 in 2009; and Jake Fox with 10 in 2011.
Next up for Bryant is a game in the outfield, manager Joe Maddon said, possibly by Thursday as the Cubs try to increase his versatility in anticipation of an early season debut.
The error, on a fumbled hopper, was his third of the spring – first since a pair of early throwing errors that may have been related to a sore shoulder that limited him to DH duties for a week.
