Cubs comfortable with Bryant at Double-A

MILWAUKEE -- Cubs prospect Kris Bryant was 4-for-4 on Wednesday, and he hit his Southern League-leading 17th home run on Friday for Double-A Tennessee. The third baseman was batting over .400 in May with 12 home runs, six doubles and 34 RBIs in 28 games.

What else does he have to prove at Double-A?

"With all due respect to everyone who is looking at these young men and their numbers, he's doing very, very well and we're happy he's doing very, very well," Cubs manager Rick Renteria said Friday. "I'll say this: Even when you get to the big leagues you always have some room to learn. [To say] that he wouldn't have anything else to learn in Double-A, I guess that can be debated.

"We're glad he's doing well," Renteria said. "As an organization, everybody is comfortable where he's at. The organization will make a decision as to how he'll progress."

Even the Smokies are excited about Bryant's performances, and they invited fans to submit "Kris Bryant facts." Among them was teammate Corey Black's submission: "Kris Bryant shouldn't even have to walk to the plate any more, just trot around the bases straight out of the dugout."

Bryant, rated the Cubs' No. 2 prospect by MLB.com, was the their first-round pick in last June's First Year Player Draft. The Cubs do have a talented third baseman at Triple-A Iowa in Christian Villanueva, who was batting .226 with four homers, 13 doubles and 17 RBIs in 47 games.