Chicago Cubs Player to Watch: Bryan LaHair
In football, they say the most popular guy on the team in the backup quarterback. I guess you could say the Triple-A prospect is the backup quarterback of baseball.
The Chicago Cubs are going to give minor league veteran Bryan LaHair a shot to play first base this season, but all anyone wants to talk about is newly-acquired prospect Anthony Rizzo. Don’t be surprised if LaHair does more than simply keep the seat warm for Rizzo.
A 39th-round draft pick in 2002, LaHair has 970 minor league games under his belt. Before last season, the 29-year-old’s only Major League action came in a 45-game stint with the Seattle Mariners in 2008. Seems like the perfect fit for a franchise known as the lovable losers.
If you’re looking for a player who is going to appreciate his opportunity to play in the big leagues, look no further. Here’s what LaHair told Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune about what it’s like to have a starting job:
“It’s humbling. I try to stay humble about the situation. I take everything in stride, try not to get into it too much, because there’s still a lot of negative stuff. But there’s a lot of positive stuff to share. The job is mine, but I can’t worry about it.
“I have to focus on being productive and helping this team win and being myself up there. If I do that, it’ll be my job. But if you struggle over a period of time you can lose it. I don’t want it to get too far away, as far as going about my business everyday.”
The Cubs signed LaHair as a free agent before the 2010 season, and he’s flourished at Triple-A Iowa. Last season, he hit .331 with 38 home runs and 109 RBI. That performance earned him a call-up with the Cubs, and he responded by posting an impressive .885 OPS over 20 games with Chicago.
If LaHair can stick in the majors, he will have one of the greatest stories of perseverance in the history of baseball. You don’t see too many 29-year-old, 39th-rounders who play in six years of Triple-A ball make it.
The truth is, however, there is a good reason why Rizzo has been the focus at first base for the Cubs. He has the pedigree of a future All-Star and has long-been admired by both new team President Theo Epstein and new General Manager Jed Hoyer. So, even if LaHair proves himself as a major leaguer, he’ll likely get dealt at midseason or have to find a new club next winter.
The Cubs have other, similar situations to first base. Brett Jackson is another bright outfield prospect who’s not quite ready for the bigs. Even though they managed to move clubhouse cancer Carlos Zambrano, they still have a few bad contracts they’d like to get themselves out of. Alfonso Soriano immediately comes to mind.
This is a club in the middle of a rebuild, whether they want to admit it or not, but there is definitely potential for them to improve upon their 71-91 record form a year ago. Guys like Matt Garza will be valuable trade chips around the deadline, however, so I expect to see some players on their Opening Day roster finish the year in different jerseys.
If it’s a contending club that Cubs fans are looking for, they’ll have to wait ’till next year.
Elsewhere on Rant: Ryan Gaydos’s 2012 Chicago Cubs MLB Preview
