MESA, Ariz. – With thin air, a beautiful old-time uppercut swing and all of Chicago's North Side and beyond watching, the Cubs' great big hope Kris Bryant is dominating the Cactus League this spring. The giant (6-5½ if you're counting) wunderkind didn't play Sunday with shoulder fatigue, leaving him with six home runs, which is still double anyone else's total here, or in Florida.

"Spring training is spring training. But he's putting on a show," Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said.

Fresh off yet another two-homer game at an exhibition in Las Vegas, not far from where he grew up and still lives with his parents, the right-handed-hitting Bryant is creating extra buzz around the Cubs, who have easily the best young positional talent in the majors. Bryant is right at the top of that long and impressive prospect list, and a spring start that includes only 11 outs to go with the half-dozen homers is fueling the hype that accompanies the hope of sports' most lovable non-winning franchise.

Bryant wears a perpetual smile, and why not? His future as a just-turned-23 is as bright as anyone's, whether he starts the year at Addison and Clark streets, or returns to Des Moines for just a tad more seasoning. Of course, there will be a clamoring for his inclusion on the 25-man roster of what appears to be the National League's most improved team, and any league's most pennant-starved fan base.

Though maybe not from Bryant himself. Cubs higher-ups sat him down at the beginning of spring, and laid out a plan for improvement and development, and it had more to do with defense than dingers, which he has already apparently mastered. Mike Olt, himself a former prodigy, is probably the team's third base favorite, at least to start the season, and Bryant knows this.

"I want to build on what I've done so far. Now I've got the gas to the floor, and I'm not going to let up," Bryant promised.

But don't expect a blowup, or even a flareup, if the biggest spring home run hitter is sent back to Triple-A ball. He's not that kind. He's as far from that kind as one can be. "I'm just trying to stay focused and stay in the moment," Bryant said when asked how disappointed he'd be if he didn't start the year in Chicago.

The moment looks near. But whether he may be delayed a month or two, or perhaps a bit more, the path to the big leagues has seemed inexorable since childhood in the Summerlin section of Las Vegas.

His hitting prowess was apparent from a very early age. It goes all the way back to the time as a 10-year-old on the aptly-named Las Vegas Ballbusters team, where he hit 34 home runs in 172 games (as he pointed out, it never snows in Vegas) playing for his dad Mike Bryant, who had a couple springs in Red Sox camp in the early '80s, and also the dad of Joey Gallo, the second of the three best slugging prospects in the game. The game's other big slugging prospect is the Twins' Miguel Sano, who is distinguishable as the one not from Las Vegas.

Bryant's ability to hit a baseball very far is only matched by his warmth and kindness. On this day, he waved hustling kid Cub fans to chase the golf cart he shared with veterans, patiently signing all those who finally caught the cart, with a smile no less. He is often described as a parent's dream, and it appears right.

He calls his older brother Nick, a former ballplayer, the "smart one" in the family. But Bryant was the salutatorian in his Bonanza High class before he gave away the honor to a classmate who had more interest in it (and presumably less power, earning and other). Bryant later donated money to pay for new uniforms at his old high school, according to a story Sunday by Mark Gonzales in the Chicago Tribune. And as for the upbringing away from the Strip in Vegas, he said, "I didn't get caught up in all that crazy stuff."

Peavy (USATSI)
Rising Cubs slugger Kris Bryant already has six homers this spring. (USATSI)

Bryant, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2013 MLB draft out of the University of San Diego (the Astros chose Stanford pitcher Mark Appel first in a pick that has the potential to be second guessed), was too busy perfecting an uppercut swing that lends itself to strikeouts, but also home runs. As few as 12 players hit 30 home runs in the big leagues last year. Bryant hit 43 between stops at Double-A Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa, batting .325 with 110 RBI but also 162 strikeouts.

"He does things few other folks do," Epstein said. "He swings up at the ball like Ted Williams used to teach. He hits the ball up in the air. He hits it with tremendous backspin. When he hits, it carries like few others."

The hitting style is no coincidence, as Mike Bryant met Williams his couple years in Winter Haven with the Red Sox, and he listened. Right through today, Kris works out with his dad, and enjoys his mom Susie's home cooking.

"One day I'll have to move, I suppose," Bryant said.

Here, in his home away from home, with the Cubbies, he is single-minded in his resolve to work on his game. While the hitting comes naturally, he still lives in the cage.

It's showing in the games, where Bryant has been a highlight reel. After big-hitting prospects Jorge Soler and Javier Baez homered back-to-back against the Indians at Goodyear earlier this week, Bryant made it three consecutive home runs. At Las Vegas, Bryant, originally scratched from the lineup with a sore shoulder, entered the game early, and wound up homering to both right-center field (the opposite way) and left-center, enthralling the 20 friends and family who made it from Summerlin to Cashman Field.

Scouts are raving about all the Cubs' positional talent, which also includes shortstop Addison Russell, catcher Kyle Schwarber, outfielder Albert Almora and many others. Several have superstar potential, but Bryant is the one captures imaginations, thanks to his otherworldly power.

"I'm just blessed with a lot of power," he said.

He's being slightly modest there, as he works at it, and thinks about it. Epstein calls him "scientific" and "self aware," high praise from a Yalie.

The Cubs are also fortunate this is a focused group, though it's hard imagine any of them can match Bryant for his friendliness. "High-character dudes," is what Epstein calls them, collectively.

Chicago naturally wants to see Bryant right away, but he might need to carry his monster start through to the end of spring to have a realistic shot to start the season in Chicago. He wasn't called up last September, and word is the Cubs want to be sure about his defense at third base before summoning him to the majors. And, for all the hype, hoopla and spring homers, he's still a work in progress with the glove. He has two errors in camp, and Bryant himself admitted he wants to "shore up" his defense as he bids to make the team.

"I'm going to try to make it really hard on them," Bryant said.

It's not going to be easy. It's likely that Olt, himself a former Rangers prodigy and still only 25, is favored to start the year as the Cub's starting third baseman. Olt was at one time an untouchable prospect who the Rangers declined to trade for Ryan Dempster, now a Cubs adviser, and even Cole Hamels. However, after a rough stretch following a beaning in winter ball, Olt was seen as a small part of the deal with Texas for Matt Garza.

Olt, like Bryant, is one of those "too good to be true" types who's easy to root for. His 18-month slide followed a bad concussion, headaches, eye issues, time off, then later battles with allergies. He got half a chance last year as a utilityman with the Cubs, and while he hit 10 home runs, he was sent back with a .160 batting average. And true to form, he blames himself for not being properly prepared and letting his limiting role get the better of him.

He also is finally feeling like himself. He told folks he did last year. But he said, "I can say it now with a little more confidence. You never want to think negatively. But now I feel like I'm in a good place."

Olt, who is hitting .278 with two home runs of his own this spring, probably still does have the upper hand for the starting job, even over the otherworldly Bryant. Olt's defense is a bit more certain at this stage. He may be the safer choice.

Some teams will hold players back to alter their service time clock, delaying the player's eligibility for arbitration and possibly free agency, too. But the Cubs aren't like that. They called upon Baez and Soler sooner than expected last year, and they haven't been offering long-term deals with promises to promote attached to them. The Cubs are a big-market team wanting to break a 107-year streak of not winning the World Series.

Cubs higher-ups are closely monitoring the situation, though Bryant's mild arm issue is a current complication.

"We make baseball decisions," Epstein said.

Olt's a nice guy and a nicer story, and at this point he'd be a safer bet with the glove. But one scout, who suggested he believes the Cubs are doing the right thing by letting Bryant stay at third base, and not switching him to the outfield, wondered what happens if Bryant keeps hitting long balls out here.

"If he hits 12 home runs, what do they do?" the scout wondered.

It's hard to say, but for the Cubs, having too many good players is a nicer problem than what they've encountered previously.