Chicago Cubs: How much in-prime Anthony Rizzo remains?

Chicago Cubs: Factors on Rizzo’s future

Little has alarmed Cubs fans to indicate Rizzo is slowing down in terms of production. Both his average and on-base last year were career-highs. One could point at the slight drop in home run production, but it was not an overall drastic. Rizzo is a guy who will not sell out and sacrifice all-or-nothing home run swings for choking up and protecting the plate in certain counts.

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Legitimate concerns regarding Rizzo’s future mainly lie within his recent health issues. He has yet to miss something drastic like 80+ games, but we have seen him experience back issues the past few seasons.

So far, they have been a small nagging, but a tall guy with a bad back will naturally see it become more of a nuisance as time goes on. The ankle injury he suffered last year was concerning for the time, but less now since it was a sprain and a one-time incident.

Going back to his actual age, it is worth noting he will turn 31 this coming August. Again this is not old, but he is well past being a young player. This is like the “middle age” for baseball players. For guys like Rizzo, who are better than many but not quite an all-time high level, it is typically the part of their careers where they’ve established who they are and can still play at their ceiling but not exceed it.