Micah Hoffpauir: Heading Back to Iowa Cubs This Season?

Over the past few seasons, the Cubs have been a heavily right handed hitting team, and this coming season will be no different. This has made having a left handed hitter with some power to come of the bench a necessity.

For two years, Daryle Ward filled the role, but when he was not re-signed after the 2008 season, the job was left open. After an impressive September in 2008, Micah Hoffpauir managed to secure the job with another strong showing in the spring. He will again enter the season in the mix for that bench spot, but there are a number of other options. First let's take a look at Hoffpauir.

Micah Hoffpauir

After toiling in the minor leagues for the better part of seven seasons, with five of those seasons spent in AAA Iowa, Hoffpauir seemed to be the classic AAAA player; a man among boys in the minors, but not quite good enough for the majors.

However, when he got his chance at the end of the 2008 season, he made the most of it, hitting .342 BA, 2 HR, 8 RBI in 33 games down the stretch, after a .362 BA, 25 HR, 100 RBI season in Iowa.

That performance, along with a solid spring training, netted Hoffpauir a bench spot last season, and while he opened the season with a .281 BA, 4 HR, 16 RBI line through the end of May, he struggled to just .191 BA, 6 HR, 19 RBI the remainder of the season.

This is more than a bit concerning, and may be one reason the Cubs signed Bryan LaHair away from the Mariners.

Bryan LaHair

LaHair, a big 6'5" left handed hitter, will be just 27 to start the season, and was in a situation similar to Hoffpauir was in Seattle, where he consistently posted good numbers in the minors but never really got a chance.

He earned a brief call-up at the end of the 2008 season, and went .250 BA, 3 HR, 10 RBI in 136 at-bats. While he was more or less useless against left handers, with just two hits in 22 at-bats, he hit righties to the tune of .281/.328/.395 which is not overly impressive, but compares favorably to Hoffpauir's .249/.310/.439 line against right handers last year.

He spent all of last season in AAA, where he hit .289 BA, 26 HR, 85 RBI and posted solid peripherals with an OBP of .354 and SLG of .530.

LaHair signed with the Cubs as a non-roster invitee to spring training, and he will get every chance to prove he belongs at the big league level.

Brad Snyder

A former college All-American and first round draft pick of the Cleveland Indians, Snyder seemed well on his way to being an everyday big leaguer, until he hit a wall in AAA. Despite consistently high strikeout totals at the lower levels, he was always able to make up for it with his power. However, once he hit AAA, his walk totals dropped and so did his average. In his last year in Cleveland, he hit just .246 with a dismal .297 OBP, and was not re-signed.

After a decent season in AAA for the Cubs last year in which he hit 15 HR and drove in 47, Snyder tore up the Mexican League this winter for Mexicali. That led to his re-signing as well as a non-roster invitation to camp, and at the very least, he will provide some outfield depth should the team suffer injuries.

He will have a chance to make the team, but if he doesn't, he could see a mid season call-up and be this year's Jake Fox.

Free Agent Options

There are still a number of powerful left handed bats available on the free agent market that should be had for relatively cheap, should the Cubs decide to add another player to this mix. One guy in particular who has received little interest that I think they should take a look at is Mike Jacobs.

The former Marlins and Royals first basemen launched 19 HRs last season and 32 the year before that and no doubt provides a significant source of power. He does strike out a ton, and considering he is still only 29 he may not be open to a reserve role yet, but I think he would be a nice addition if he were willing to accept such a role.

So while the Cubs no doubt still need to address the back end of their bullpen with another veteran arm, I think they would also be wise to give some other players a serious look before handing a bench job to the underperforming Hoffpauir again.