Chicago Cubs: Anthony Rizzo on pace for career year

Anthony Rizzo has been the MVP of the Chicago Cubs for the first half of the season and he’s on pace for career-best numbers.

When the Chicago Cubs traded for Anthony Rizzo back in January 2012, it was a franchise-changing move for a team that had just switched ownership and general managers. One of Theo Epstein’s first moves as President of Baseball Operations was the Rizzo trade, who he was familiar with during his time in Boston.

Drafted in the sixth round of the 2007 MLB Draft by the Red Sox, Rizzo was sent over to the San Diego Padres in the Adrian Gonzalez deal. He was ranked by many media sources as the best first baseman prospect but nothing is guaranteed when it comes to prospects. After being acquired, Rizzo spent his first several seasons in the major leagues on some bad Cubs teams but he was always part of the core the front office was trying to build around.

Outside of 2013, Rizzo has been one of the team’s most consistent hitters. He put together four consecutive 30+ home run seasons between 2014 and 2017. It’s hard to believe that he’ll be turning 30 years old next month, but Rizzo is not letting age determine his production.

Notoriously a slow-starter, Rizzo followed that trend in March/April of this season but was red hot in May, batting 0.355 with 9 home runs and 24 RBI’s. On the season, Rizzo is second to only Javier Baez in home runs and RBI’s but he’s on pace for a career-year.

At this rate, Rizzo will finish with 35 home runs and 105 RBI’s. He finished with 109 RBI’s in both 2016 and 2017, but he could accelerate his 2019 pace in the second half as more guys in front of him start to get on base. Rizzo is one of the few guys who hit well with RISP (0.275) in the first half.

He has a great approach with two strikes that I wish more batters would utilize. Choking up on the bat to shorten his swing, Rizzo doesn’t try to do too much on two-strike counts and, more often than not, it yields positive results.

There’s no doubt Rizzo is the heart and soul of this club. He is signed to a team-friendly deal through the end of this year with two club options in 2020 and 2021. The Cubs should strongly consider extending Rizzo this off-season. He has nothing left to prove his worth to the team and I expect that he gets paid after finishing his 7-year, $41 million contract.

Aside from his leadership on the field, Rizzo is a terrific role model off the field visiting sick kids in the hospital on his off-days or the morning or a night game. He’s everything and more that the Cubs could have wanted when they acquired him from the Padres.