Why Does Baseball Prospectus Hate Kris Bryant?

ESPN’s Keith Law believes Kris Bryant to be the No. 1 prospect in all the land, while MLB.com thinks he could take the role played by Robert Wagner and Rob Lowe in the Austin Powers flicks. That’s really just a pop-culturally esoteric way to say that they called him No. 2.

The good news is that the Cubs still put a player just outside of the top spot, as Addison Russell came in behind only the Twins’ Byron Buxton in the recently-released Baseball Prospectus Top 101 Prospects of 2015.

The bad news is that Nick J. Faleris, Chris Mellen, and the rest of the BP Prospect Staff apparently have a deep and abiding hatred for the Cubs’ anointed Golden Boy. Such is their loathing that Bryant’s name came after not only Buxton and Russell, but the Astros’ Carlos Correa and the Indians’ Francisco Lindor as well.

Maybe it’s shortstop bias; the BP list looks like the Cubs’ extended roster, with 3 of the top 5 playing left of second base. Or perhaps it’s ageism, as the 23-year-old Bryant is at least 22 months older than any of his comrades in the top 5.

Regardless, I say we all grab our torches and pitchforks and take arms against the sea of troublemakers at BP in retaliation for this egregious effrontery. Who’s with me?

Okay, I hope the answer is nobody. It is, however, interesting to see Bryant’s name a little lower on the list than what most may have expected. If you have questions for Faleris and Mellen about their list, you can join in a chat tonight at 8 PM EST. You can also see the Top 101 with full commentary in Baseball Prospectus 2015.

And lest I neglect the other Cubs prospects, I should mention that Jorge Soler (19), Albert Almora (38), Kyle Schwarber (77), Billy McKinney (81), and Pierce Johnson (83) all made appearances in the list of 101.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to seek out pictures of the 2 main authors in order to more accurately craft my effigy dolls. Alright, I’m just kidding. But seriously, I might do it.