Cubs confident unsung LaHair ready to thrive

The Cubs' representative in mlb.com's Big League Bracket Challenge, Bryan LaHair didn't pick any long shots to win the NCAA Tournament.

But as a former 39th-round draft pick, Chicago's burly first baseman is familiar with beating long odds.

If he had to fill out a bracket in which the winner made it to the majors, LaHair, 29, said he probably would've started out as a 12 seed.

"Twelve would be a good number, because 12s seem to beat fives quite a bit," he said Saturday before the Cubs' 12-7 Big League Weekend loss to the Texas Rangers in front of a crowd of 9,889 at Cashman Field. "In my own mind, I'd be a top seed. In the minds of everybody else, I'd probably be a lower seed."

Drafted by Seattle in 2002, the 6-foot-5-inch, 240-pound slugger made his major league debut with the Mariners in 2008, but was mostly mired in the minors for his first nine pro seasons.

Midway through a monster season for Triple-A Iowa last year -- when he hit .331 with 38 home runs and 109 RBIs en route to Pacific Coast League Most Valuable Player honors -- a discouraged LaHair feared he never would get another shot at the big leagues.

"I just felt like it was the perfect time. I felt like I was ready," he said. "It got to the point where I started to question whether the opportunity was ever going to come again."

It came again in September, and LaHair made the most of it, batting .288 with two homers and six RBIs in 20 games for Chicago.

LaHair considered playing in Japan this year before new Cubs president Theo Epstein promised him a shot to prove himself.

"Theo made it a pretty easy decision for me," LaHair said. "He basically said it was too early for me to go and it was time for me to show I could be an everyday player in the big leagues."

When Chicago acquired top prospect Anthony Rizzo -- another power-hitting first baseman and PCL MVP candidate last year -- from San Diego in a January trade for pitcher Andrew Cashner, Epstein reassured LaHair he was the Cubs' starting first baseman and the 22-year-old Rizzo would open the season in Iowa.

"As soon as he made that trade, he called my agent right away and told us it wasn't going to affect me," LaHair said. "(Rizzo's) definitely the first baseman of the future, whenever that is, but I have to control what I can control and produce."

The left-handed hitting LaHair will replace departed free agent Carlos Pena at first base and is expected to bat fourth or fifth in the order.

"He can generate a lot of runs, being left-handed with power, but he's got to relax and not try to do everything at one time," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said. "Sometimes when you get to the big leagues later in your career, you think you've got to hit this many homers in April to stay, and it's an uphill battle."

LaHair is off to a slow start this spring, batting .214 (6-for-28) with no homers and two RBIs. He went 3-for-5 Thursday, after a 3-for-20 start, and 0-for-3 Saturday with a sacrifice fly.

Sveum attributes his struggles to facing an inordinate number of left-handers, but LaHair said his timing is just a little off right now.

"I don't want to peak too soon, but at the same time, I don't want to give at-bats away," he said. "It's getting to the point now where I'm trying to lock myself in and get comfortable up there."

With the biggest year of his life on deck, LaHair is confident he can crush it.

"I have absolutely no doubt in my mind," he said.

■ NOTES -- Josh Hamilton had an RBI single, and Renny Osuna hit a three-run homer in Texas' first appearance at Big League Weekend. … Starter Jeff Samardzija allowed a run on three hits in four innings for the Cubs, Alfonso Soriano had an RBI single, and Adrian Cardenas (three hits), Steve Clevenger and Junior Lake homered.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354.