Welcome back to the 2015 Last Word on Fantasy Baseball Guide. Over the next several months we will be releasing player profiles, projections, position rankings, and a number of other articles that will help you dominate your fantasy league this season. Whether you play rotisserie or head-to-head; whether you have a standard draft, a snake or an auction league, and whether its keeper league or a one-year deal; we have all the fantasy information you need.
For the rest of our fantasy baseball profiles and articles, please check out our Fantasy Baseball Guide Page
FANTASY PROFILE: ANTHONY RIZZO, 1B, CHICAGO CUBS
LWOS 1B Rank 5, Captains Value $19.96
After not quite living up to the lofty expectations the Chicago Cubs placed on him for his first couple of years with the club, Anthony Rizzo finally broke out in 2014. Up until last season, his two biggest and most glaring issues were hitting fastballs and hitting lefties. He’s fixed the fastball problem by increasing his bat speed dramatically, but the most dramatic improvement in his offense is his performance versus lefties.
His splits between righties and lefties in his 240-ish games with the Cubs prior to 2014 were absolutely atrocious on the “L” side. In 2012, he crushed righties at a .318/.383/.513 rate with an 8.4 BB% and 15.7 K%, but against lefties he hit .208/.243/.356, 4.7%, and 19.6%. In 2013 he was even worse (although he walked a little more), going .252/.342/.454, 11.4%, and 17.5% versus righties and .189/.282/.342, 10.2%, and 20.4% versus lefties.
He crushed his kryptonite in 2014 by foiling the plan most lefties used to make him an easy out: pitching him down and inside. He used to not be able to lay off of pitches in that area, and he couldn’t hit them either. He remedied this by improving his plate discipline and patience. Simply put, he laid off of them, reducing his swing-and-miss rate by 50% and improving his line against lefties in 2014 to .300/.421/.527, 13.5%, and 16.4%.
Is this the real Anthony Rizzo or was it a fluke year? My money is on it being the former. He is young (just 25) for already having 436 games under his belt, and appears to be improving his all-around game. Considering his improvements, his being under the guidance of Joe Maddon, and the ever-improving Cubs lineup, we might not have even seen the best of Anthony Rizzo yet.
| Year | Age | Team | G | PA | HR | RBI | R | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| 2012 | 22 | CHC | 87 | 368 | 15 | 48 | 44 | 3 | .285 | .342 | .463 | .805 |
| 2013 | 23 | CHC | 160 | 690 | 23 | 80 | 71 | 6 | .233 | .323 | .419 | .742 |
| 2014 | 24 | CHC | 140 | 616 | 32 | 78 | 89 | 5 | .286 | .386 | .527 | .913 |
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