23-year old lefty swinging 1B Anthony Rizzo was awesome for the Cubs in July, but the pitchers have caught up to him already. He has played in 25 games so far in August and he is 24 of 101 (.238 avg, .578 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 1 homer, 8 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Rizzo has now played in 56 games overall this year for the Cubs and he is 60 for 213 (.282 avg, .767 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 9 homers, 28 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The Cubs hope that Rizzo gets back on track with the bat in September.

24-year old lefty swinging CF Brett Jackson and 22-year old righty swinging 3B Josh Vitters are having big time trouble with major league pitching so far this year. Jackson has played in 15 games for the Cubs so far this year and he is 9 for 51 (.176 avg, .577 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs. He has walked 6 times while whiffing a utterly pathetic 26 times already this year for the Cubs. Vitters has played in 12 games for the Cubs so far this year and he is 5 for 41 (.122 avg, .363 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer, 4 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has whiffed 16 times already for the Cubs and he has yet to walk. I don’t see how letting these guys struggle so badly is going to help them down the road.

With Brett Jackson in CF and David DeJesus moving back to RF, the Cubs have decided to make 29-year old lefty swinging 1B/RF Bryan LaHair the first player off the bench. LaHair has played in 93 games for the Cubs overall this year and he is 75 of 285 (.263 avg, .808 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 14 homers, 31 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. But, he has really been in a terrible slump since June 1st. Since June 1st, LaHair has played in 48 games in which he is 30 for 139 (.216 avg) with 14 runs scored, 4 homers, 9 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Cubs hope that LaHair can help them as a pinch hitter the rest of the year.

25-year old righty swinging Welington Castillo and 26-year old lefty swinging Steve Clevenger will share time behind the plate with Geovany Soto out of the picture (he was dealt to the Rangers). Castillo came into this season as the Cubs’ #6 prospect according to Baseball America. He has played in 10 games for the Cubs so far this year and he is 8 for 38 (.211 avg, .689 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 2 homers and 6 RBIs. Clevenger came into this season as the Cubs’ #21 prospect according to Baseball America. Clevenger has played in 45 games for the Cubs so far this year and he is 32 of 133 (.241 avg, .594 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 1 homer and 14 RBIs. The Cubs hope that Castillo and Clevenger can handle a heavier workload behind the plate the rest of this season.

With the trade deadline coming up, the Cubs should have been showcasing 31-year old righty swinging infielder Jeff Baker. After all, 3B has been open for quite a while. Baker has played in 50 games for the Cubs so far this year and he is 33 of 122 (.270 avg, .761 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 4 homers, 19 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Instead though, the Cubs have been playing 26-year old lefty Luis Valbuena the most at 3B. Valbuena has played in 38 games for the Cubs so far this year and he is 24 of 121 (.198 avg, .596 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 3 homers and 18 RBIs. I’m willing to bet no team calls the Cubs about Valbuena in the next couple of days.

22-year old righty swinging shortstop Starlin Castro has had a rough time so far in July for the Cubs. He has played in 11 games so far in July and he is only 7 of 41 (.171 avg, .471 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs. Castro has now played in 88 games so far this year for the Cubs and he is 101 of 356 (.284 avg, .719 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 7 homers, 44 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. Castro is a big part of the Cubs’ future so they need him to pick the pace back up with the bat in his hands.

If 29-year old righty swinging catcher Geovany Soto doesn’t starting hitting soon, he’s likely going to start losing ABs. Soto has played in 13 games for the Cubs so far this year and he is 6 for 47 (.128 avg, .435 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 1 homer and 1 RBI. 26-year old rookie lefty swinging catcher Steve Clevenger is putting some pressure on Soto. Clevenger has played in 9 games for the Cubs so far this year and he is 10 for 19 (.526 avg, 1.287 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 0 homers and 2 RBIs.

34-year old righty swinging CF Marlon Byrd is off to a very slow start with the bat in 2012. He has played in 6 games for the Cubs so far this year and he is 1 for 21 (.048 avg, .178 OPS) with 1 run scored and 2 RBIs. The Cubs tried to deal Byrd over the winter and they are still likely trying to do so, but they aren’t going to be able to move him unless he starts hitting the baseball. Reed Johnson could start taking some P.T. away from Byrd if he doesn’t break out of his slump soon.

Just 13 days ago, 25-year old righty swinging 2B Darwin Barney was hitting .293 for the Cubs. But, in his last 13 games, Barney is 4 for 43 (.093 avg) with 2 runs scored, 0 homers, 4 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 126 games for the Cubs this year and he is 128 for 466 (.275 avg, .662 OPS) with 58 runs scored, 2 homers, 40 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. If he doesn’t pick the pace back up with the bat, he’s going to have competition for his starting job next spring.

28-year old righty swinging catcher Geovany Soto is having another rough year with the bat. He has played in 46 games for the Cubs so far this year and he is 35 for 159 (.220 avg, .691 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 5 homers and 15 RBIs. A look at Soto’s career shows that in odd numbered seasons, he just doesn’t produce. In his four odd numbered seasons with the Cubs, Soto has played in 167 games in which he is 128 for 545 (.235 avg) with 57 runs scored, 19 homers, 70 RBIs and 1 stolen base. In his three even numbered years, Soto has played in 257 games in which he is 236 for 841 (.281 avg) with 114 runs scored, 40 homers and 141 RBIs. The Cubs hope that Soto breaks out of his funk soon.