Major League Baseball announced Wednesday that 3B/OF Kris Bryant was named the National League Rookie of the Month for May.
Kris Bryant, 23, led Major League rookies with 22 RBI in May while his seven home runs ranked second. He is the first Cubs rookie to record at least 22 RBI in the month of May since Bob Speake had 29 RBI in 1955 and Ernie Banks had 27 RBI in 1954. All told, Bryant hit .265 (27-for-102) with two doubles, a triple, seven homers, 22 RBI, 20 runs scored, 16 walks, three stolen bases, a .369 on-base percentage and a .510 slugging percentage last month.
The Cubs first round selection (second overall) in the 2013 Draft, Bryant began play Wednesday night batting .273 (42-for-154) with seven doubles, one triple, seven homers, 33 RBI, 28 runs scored and 27 walks in 42 games since making his big league debut, April 17. The right-handed batter recorded a 12-game hitting streak, May 11-23, in which he hit .349 (15-for-43) with a 1.108 OPS. The 12-game streak tied fellow rookie Addison Russell for the longest by a Cubs player this season and is tied for the longest by a Cubs rookie since Jerome Walton’s 30-game hitting streak in 1989.
Bryant entered play Wednesday ranked tied for eighth in the N.L. in walks and leads the team while ranking 13th in the N.L. in RBI. Additionally, he leads all rookies in RBI and on-base percentage (.387) and ranks among the top-five N.L. rookies in batting average, home runs, runs scored, hits, total bases (72), walks, steals (5) and slugging (.468).