Kris Bryant To Play 3rd, Bat 4th In Major League Debut

(CBS) Kris Bryant will third base and bat cleanup in his major league debut for the Cubs on Friday afternoon against the Padres at Wrigley Field. First pitch is set for 1:20 p.m.

Here's the Cubs' batting order. They'll opposing Padres ace James Shields.

1. Dexter Fowler, CF
2. Jorge Soler, RF
3. Anthony Rizzo, 1B
4. Kris Bryant, 3B
5. Chris Coghlan, LF
6. Starlin Castro, SS
7. Welington Castillo, C
8. Jason Hammel, P
9. Jonathan Herrera, 2B

By holding off on calling Bryant up until Friday, the Cubs ensured they'll have contract control of him through 2021 instead of 2020. Friday is the 13th day of the MLB season, which means Bryant could at most accumulate 171 days of major league service. It takes 172 days to accumulate a full year of MLB service, so Bryant won't reach that mark.

Bryant hit hit .325 with 43 homers and 110 RBIs across Double-A and Triple-A in 2014, when he was named the minor league player of the year.

In addition to calling up Bryant, the Cubs activated outfielder Chris Denorfia from the 15-day disabled list. Infielder Mike Olt (hairline fracture in right wrist) and reliever Neil Ramirez (right shoulder inflammation) were each placed on the 15-day DL.