There are some who believe that a fictitious character is just as real as a flesh-and-blood person. That our reality is so permeable that the mere act of creation is enough to bring something into our world, blurring the lines between your best friend and a mere collection of words on a page.

I never believed in that theory -- until now. Because I'm starting to think that Matt Christopher's classic character, Sylvester Coddmeyer III, star of "The Kid Who Only Hits Homers" has come to life. And he's going by the name Kris Bryant.

It's not that shocking when you think about it. After hitting 43 home runs between Double- and Triple-A last season, Bryant has now hit eight home runs this Spring. Eight. That's double the number of anyone else in Spring Training.

That includes two more on Saturday. One came off of Felix Hernandez, who surrendered only 0.6 HR/9 IP last season:

And another in the bottom of the fourth:

But what other proof do we have that the Cubs' top prospect is the fictitous Coddmeyer III? Well:

- Bryant has 12 hits this spring in 25 at-bats. That means a full 67% of his hits have left the park. While that's not every at-bat, we have to remember that Coddmeyer was in Little League. I'm pretty sure that a kid who hits a home run in every plate appearance while a pre-teen probably hits home runs at Bryant's rate in the big leagues.

- Of Bryant's four other hits, two of them were doubles. As you surely remember, Coddmeyer's first non-home run hit was a double. Coincidence? I think not.

- Bryant attended Bonanza High School in Las Vegas. Is there a more fictional high school name than that?

- If you rearrange the letters, Sylvester Coddmeyer spells Crys Dryemt. Which is very similar to Kris Bryant.

- Bryant's Twitter handle includes the number 23. You don't need to be a genius to see the similarities between Coddmeyer III. Also, there must be some connection Jim Carrey's movie Number 23, right?

- I mean, just look at this. Does this not look like a kid who only hits home runs?

Yeah, I think we have sufficient evidence. Now we'll just have to be careful should "The Dog that Pitched a No-Hitter" come to pass.