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What might have been: Bryant plays in Houston
- Updated: September 10, 2016
HOUSTON — On Friday night, for the first time in his Major League career, Kris Bryant played at Minute Maid Park, which might have been his home with the difference of one Draft pick.
What could have been.
More than four years ago, the Astros, coming off a 51-111 campaign, elected to take pitcher Mark Appel with the top overall pick in the 2013 Draft.
“Thank you,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said of Houston’s decision.
That move gave the Cubs the ability to take Bryant, then a 20-year-old third baseman out of the University of San Diego, at No. 2.
Four years later, Bryant is putting up insane numbers, batting .302 with 158 hits, 91 RBIs and 36 home runs, and has emerged as a superstar. Appel, currently with Philadelphia’s Triple-A affiliate, still hasn’t played a game in the Majors.
“Nothing [Bryant] does surprises me, and right now he’s playing as good as he has in the years that I’ve seen him,” Maddon said. “His overall consistency …
