5 replies to this topic

[Sam]

With the acquisition of Rizzo the Cubs now have not one but two of the top 10 1B prospects, and I believe the only reason why Voglebach isn't rated higher is that he hasn't really played that much. But the question now is, what happens to Voglebach? With Rizzo, his path to first is blocked, and I can't imagine him being able to play any other position, unless we want to have the first 280lb left fielder, which would still be an improvement over Soriano. I suppose that we will cross that bridge when we get there, and im not trying to say that Voglebach is better than Rizzo, its just to soon to tell. I just hope that the Cubs find a way to use both of these players, because I think that they will both find success in the majors.

(also I wonder if Rizzo could play 3B, than we could move Stewart to 2B and have room for Voglebach at 1B, just some food for thought)

[Fishin Phil]

It's a great problem to have. If one reaches his potential, and the other doesn't pan out - the decision is easy. If they both do great, than one of them will become trade bait.

[Brett]

It's interesting to think about, but, with a 3.5/4 year age difference, it isn't really something to start planning for. I hope Rizzo grabs the reigns at first late this year, and never lets them go. I also hope Vogelbach destroys low minors pitching this year, and continues to get more fit.

Then, who knows? Best case scenario, they are both so unspeakably good that, when Vogelbach is 25 and Rizzo is 28/29 (and is about to get very expensive), Rizzo moves to the outfield or is traded for the greatest haul of prospects in the history of man.

[scorecardpaul]

I think we need to realize that a lot of great minor league players never even make it to the bigs. This is a hard game to play, and most prospects never turn into stars. There are very many talented people who play this game. I would even guess that there are a number of posters on this site who at one time had lots of potential in the minor leagues. I work with a handful of guys who were very succesful minor league ball players. Even today as past their prime, they look absolutely beastly on a old mans softball team. I guess I am rambling, but lets remember, the proffessional athlete in the major leagues is a very very rare commodity. Look at the numbers. most don't become stars.
We need to learn to learn to just enjoy what we have.

[Sam]

It's interesting to think about, but, with a 3.5/4 year age difference, it isn't really something to start planning for. I hope Rizzo grabs the reigns at first late this year, and never lets them go. I also hope Vogelbach destroys low minors pitching this year, and continues to get more fit.

Then, who knows? Best case scenario, they are both so unspeakably good that, when Vogelbach is 25 and Rizzo is 28/29 (and is about to get very expensive), Rizzo moves to the outfield or is traded for the greatest haul of prospects in the history of man.

That would be amazing. But I think it speaks volumes about our farm system that one of our worries is having too much talent at 1B.

[npnovak]

With the acquisition of Rizzo the Cubs now have not one but two of the top 10 1B prospects, and I believe the only reason why Voglebach isn't rated higher is that he hasn't really played that much. But the question now is, what happens to Voglebach? With Rizzo, his path to first is blocked, and I can't imagine him being able to play any other position, unless we want to have the first 280lb left fielder, which would still be an improvement over Soriano. I suppose that we will cross that bridge when we get there, and im not trying to say that Voglebach is better than Rizzo, its just to soon to tell. I just hope that the Cubs find a way to use both of these players, because I think that they will both find success in the majors.

(also I wonder if Rizzo could play 3B, than we could move Stewart to 2B and have room for Voglebach at 1B, just some food for thought)

You're thinking too much. First, we don't even know if Rizzo is going to be a success with the Cubs. He might end up like Tyler Colvin for all we know.

Second, Vogelbach hasn't played much professional baseball yet. Wait until he has some success in A-ball before worrying about this sort of thing. You asked "What happens to Vogelbach?" No one knows yet. If it gets to the point where he's raking in AAA, but is blocked by an All-Star caliber first baseman, that's a really good problem to have. I'm sure the front office wouldn't hesitate to trade him.

Third, Rizzo can't play third base. I don't know why no one else pointed that out. He throws with his left hand