Most people have never heard of David Bote and especially if you don't follow Cubs baseball. In fact, I never heard of David Bote until August 12th. My neighbor and I were sitting in his "garage bar" otherwise known as the dungeon, where we typically watch Cubs games together and pound beers, when David Bote stepped to the plate. It was bottom of the 9th with 2 outs and Cubs trailing by 3 runs.

I said, "Look at this fucking guy" and I also jokingly said "I'm gonna buy myself a Bote jersey. Number 13 bro!!" My neighbor and I both chuckled and laughed it off. Little did I know that this guy was going to enter the record books on that at bat and make himself indispensable to the Chicago Cubs since then. With 2 strikes and bases juiced, David Bote hits a pinch hit walk off grand slam to end the game. If video footage of this doesn't put goose-bumps on your arms then you probably don't love baseball like I do. 

If this wasn't enough, on August 12th Bote does it again, and hits a walk off home run in the bottom of the 10th against the Reds. This time Bote smashes the ball out of the ballpark onto Waveland Ave. An absolute monster bomb. 

Now, you may be thinking to yourself, "Hey this is old news man." Yes, this is old news however there is a reason I have been waiting to write about this guy. Quite frankly, I thought his performances may have been flukes. Just another flash in the pan ballplayer who we never hear about again. I have been waiting for some confirmation that made me feel justified to give this kid my stamp of approval of future baseball stardom. 

Well, I am going to give you 2 statistics and leave it at that. . . 

David Bote ranks number 2 in exit velocity of all major league players with at least 50 batted balls, second only to Aaron Judge. 

David Bote ranks number 1 in hard-hit-rate at 56.8% ( % of balls hit with greater than 95 mph exit velocity) of all batters with at least 50 plate appearances. 

Can he keep it up? I think he can and I am going to go out on a limb and lock my prediction into the blockchain forever. David Bote is going to hit 35+ home runs next year. Whether he is playing for the Cubs or not, I guarantee this young man will be someone to get on your fantasy roster. Maybe it's time for me to get that Bote jersey after all. :) 

Disclaimer: I didn't even touch upon his amazing defense at 3rd base or his baseball acumen coupled with his calm demeanor.