Kris Bryant took a mighty leap in his bid to become the National League Rookie of the Year on Sunday -- in the form of a monstrous home run.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Bryant was facing Rubby De La Rosa and he crushed a 95 mph fastball to deep left field for a homer. The ball, which was estimated to travel 495 feet, glanced off the scoreboard and was the longest blast of the MLB season thus far. The Cubs topped the Diamondbacks 6-4.
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Bryant's round-tripper was the 23rd of the season for the rookie, as he looks to prove himself to be the best first-year player in a deep bunch. Bryant is now second among rookies in homers, and trails only the Dodgers' Joc Pederson (24) for the rookie lead, while he leads all first-year players with 86 RBI and 77 runs.
The Cubs third baseman appears to be the favorite to win the award, but he has some healthy competition. Here are three other players that could stand in his way.
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1) Matt Duffy, Giants 3B
Duffy leads all rookie qualifiers with a .303 batting average, while he's second among first-year players with 65 RBI on the season. The third baseman has also launched 10 homers this season for the defending World Series champions, while ranking first among rookies in hits (142) and second in runs (62). Duffy's defense could hurt him as he has 10 errors on the season and is a minus-2 in defensive runs saved.
2) Randall Grichuk, Cardinals OF
The St. Louis outfielder just got taken off of the disabled list and he paces all rookies with a .561 slugging percentage and is third with a .894 OPS. Grichuk also has 15 homers and 44 RBI on the season for the NL Central leaders. Defensively, the outfielder has just two errors in 77 games and is a plus-11 in defensive runs saved.
3) Jung Ho Kang, Pirates SS
The Pittsburgh shortshop has had a memorable rookie season, as he's hitting .286/.359/.456 with 13 homers, while ranking tied for fourth with 51 RBI. Kang is fourth among rookies with 110 hits and fifth with 53 runs. The South Korean superstar has eight errors in 56 games as Pittsburgh chases down St. Louis and owns a wild-card spot and he is a plus-one in DRS.
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