Bryant could return to Cubs on Saturday

The Cubs said Kris Bryant was doing "much better" Friday and that there's a chance he could return to the lineup for Saturday's game against the Brewers.

Bryant took part in "baseball activities" Thursday and Friday as he recovers from being hit on the helmet with a pitch this past Sunday at Colorado.

"I think he's feeling more like himself today," said manager Joe Maddon. "I guess today he's had some really good stuff going on workout wise. If I had a guess, I would bet by (Saturday) we should be in pretty good shape."

The Cubs would like Bryant to return as soon as possible, but they're being cautious because of the head injury. Maddon is OK with that.

"You want to get them back on the horse," he said. "This is something that's relatively new. We all know what it's like for years. Nobody even really was concerned about that as much. It would have probably been treated differently even 10 years ago. So there's more protocol right now. There's more information, more stuff going on.

"So I think there's a tendency to be more conservative right now. But I think it's a good thing, too. It's about a young man's life and how he feels 30-40 years from now. I'm all into that. Getting him back on the horse is always a good thing, obviously. I think he's going to be fine."

Liking the new approach:

Joe Maddon seems to like the new approach under Chili Davis, who replaced John Mallee as the Cubs' hitting coach.

On the last homestand, Maddon downplayed such newfangled terms as launch angle and exit velocity, which were in vogue around the Cubs the past several years. He was asked about it Friday.

"I haven't been privy of all the conversations Chili's had," he said. "But if you talk to Chili, I'm sure he's not going to glorify the launch angle or whatever. Everybody likes exit velocity. That's called line drives. Who does not want to hit a line drive? So that part, I think, is kind of overemphasized and it's kind of cute to write (launch angle) on the scoreboard. But to me, real hitting is about angles and presenting the bat head in the strike zone at the proper angle at the proper moment.

"At my old hitting clinics, regardless of where you start, I want pretty much every hitter to look the same at the point of contact on a plus-velocity fastball.

"I think the (launch) angle guys tend to be long. Unless you're truly gifted, and if you're not, you're adding length to your swing, and I think you're creating holes."