CHICAGO -- As you might expect, Chicago Cubs rookie Kris Bryant is hardly concerned that he hasn’t hit his first career home run despite a drought that rivals the longest of his baseball career.

Bryant is playing in his 11th game in the big leagues on Tuesday night as the Cubs host the Pittsburgh Pirates; that’s the same number of games he went last year at Triple-A Iowa without hitting a home run.

“Then I’m due,” he joked Tuesday afternoon. “I’m proud of myself I’m showing I’m more than just a home run hitter. I like to hit line drives to right field sometimes or a ground ball up the middle.”

He’s done plenty of that as Bryant continues to show ability that most veterans covet. He’s hitting .351 with a .478 on-base percentage and most of that damage has been to center or right field.

“I’ve had people tell me in the past get your singles out of the way, so that’s what I’m doing, I guess,” Bryant stated. “Get your feet wet. Those [home runs] will come when you have the right approach and I think I have the right approach.”

Any expert or armchair fan can see the approach. He’s simply not swinging at bad pitches and not trying to do too much with the ones he hits. He’s missed squaring up on a few but the result has still been a hit or foul ball or at least a very good at-bat.

“I think that’s to be expected,” Bryant said. “Pitchers up here have more movement on the ball late. Things you might be able to get a hit off of or foul off but not necessarily squaring up the ball all the way.”

Going back to his college days at San Diego, Bryant actually went 16 consecutive games without a home run, so it’s not foreign to him to go through a stretch like this. Plus, he’s doing so many things at the plate he likes he’s not even thinking about the long ball. After all, Bryant has always said it was the “easiest” part of his game. It means they can’t be far off, right?

“I believe I’m a power hitter and they will come,” Bryant simply stated with a smile.