Phenom Bryant: I hope to put on a show in Des Moines

Come Friday, the Iowa Cubs will be on a plane headed to Des Moines for their first home game this season.

Will Kris Bryant be on it?

One of baseball's biggest prospects says he'll be ready to go to Des Moines or to the Windy City if the Chicago Cubs decide to finally bring him up to the major leagues.

"My bags are packed," Bryant said in an interview with the Des Moines Register on Thursday. "I'm ready for whatever."

Speculation continues to build about when Bryant will make his long-awaited major-league debut. Bryant, the minor league player of the year by multiple publications last season, hit .325 between double-A Tennessee and triple-A Iowa in 2014, leading the minor leagues with 43 home runs in the two stops.

Bryant entered this season ranked the top prospect in baseball by Baseball America and began the season with Iowa, despite an impressive display during spring training with the parent club.

Many have seen the move as a business tactic by the Cubs, who can delay Bryant's free agency by keeping him in the minor leagues for the first 12 days of the big-league season.

That wait expires after Thursday, meaning Bryant could be in the majors as soon as Friday. The issue became a huge talking point in the spring and has picked up momentum with Chicago dealing with numerous injuries around the field.

"It definitely was kind of a shock for me to see the attention it's getting," Bryant said. "I just try to do stuff right on the field, and I think this attention is a byproduct of it."

Bryant said he tried not to pay attention to it.

"I block it out," Bryant said. "I avoid all the distraction. I think that's the only way to go about it, to succeed and get better on the field."

Whenever the day does come, Bryant said he'll be ready.

"It'll be the best day of my life," Bryant said.

Excitement has been building as Iowa gets ready to play its first game at Principal Park this season Friday night.

Bryant is just one of the headliners on a roster that also includes Addison Russell and Javier Baez. Russell checked in at No. 2 on Baseball America's top prospects for 2015, behind Bryant and Minnesota blue-chipper Byron Buxton. Baez was in the conversation last season before making his major league debut. He has yet to play a game this season after leaving the team to be with his family following the death of his sister, Noely.

His return hasn't been announced. And Bryant could not even make the trip to Des Moines. But that hasn't slowed down Iowa fans.

Kenny Houser, Iowa's director of ticket operations even said Thursday that he wouldn't be surprised if the team had over 10,000 attending the Friday's home opener.

"It's going to be a fun atmosphere," Houser said.

That news excited Bryant.

"That's awesome," Bryant said. "You always want to lay in front of the home crowd with a ton of people there. I'm sure it's not because of me. We have a good team and Addison's there and Javy's there and a ton of guys that play in the big leagues so it's a fun team to watch. I sure hope to put on a show for them and I hope we get a win that first night."