The Cubs Problem

When Theo Epstein came over to Chicago in October, one of the biggest moves he made in the offseason was getting 1B Anthony Rizzo from the Padres.  As GM for the Red Sox, Epstein had traded Rizzo for Adrian Gonzalez in 2010. However, Epstein always was high on him. Coming into this season, he looked like the 1B of the future. Rizzo is now tearing up the Minor Leagues with 17 home runs, 44 RBIs, 11 doubles, .354 average, .713 slugging, 35 runs, and 63 hits in 47 games. So, while other minor league studs like Mike Trout and Bryce Harper are in the majors, why is Rizzo still in Triple-A?

Bryan LaHair
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In front of him on the franchise depth chart is Bryan LaHair. LaHair had 38 homeruns last year in Triple A, which was first for Minor League Baseball. He was also won the Pacific Coast League MVP and was selected to be a member of Baseball America's Minor League 1st Team All-Star Team. This year, the 29 year old has hit 10 homeruns, 21 RBIs, 9 doubles, and has a .299. Even though he has been slumping for the last week, he is in the top 10 for homeruns, slugging percentage (.584), and OPS (.978). He is also 7th in Isolated Power (.285) and 5th in Secondary Average (.455). He has also done a nice job in the field with a .991 fielding percentage and a 9.10 range factor. 




So, what are the Cubs going to do? Anthony Rizzo has only played 1B in his minor league career. Bryan LaHair is mainly a 1B, but played 135 games in LF in the minors and 1 game in left this year. In left, he has a .992 fielding percentage. Rizzo is also more likely to be the 1B because he is a lefty, limiting spots available to him. LaHair throws righty. The current leftfielder for the Cubbies is Alfonzo Soriano, who is making an outrageous amount of money. But, he can be moved around, having experience in the infield and other outfield spots. 


I believe if the both players are in the same line-up, LaHair must switch positions. LaHair is much older and it less of a risk to move him to as new spot. The position for LaHair can be LF.  Him and Rizzo in the same lineup would be great for run production. They would give the Cubs around 25-30 round-trippers and 100+ ribbies. Those two in the middle of a line-up could be the beginning of a World Series title coming back to the North Side of the Windy City.