Top Padres prospect conquers cancer, PCL

One of the prospects acquired by the Padres from the Red Sox in the Adrian Gonzalez trade, 21-year-old slugger Anthony Rizzo is putting up eyebrow-raising numbers in the Pacific Coast League.

The 6-foot-3-inch, 220-pound Tucson first baseman is batting .371 with 15 home runs and leads all of professional baseball in RBIs with 60 in 49 games.

But Rizzo's exploits in his first Triple-A season pale in comparison to his most impressive feat -- surviving cancer.

A sixth-round draft pick of Boston in 2007, Rizzo was diagnosed with limited- stage classical Hodgkin's lymphoma in April 2008, early in his first full season for Class-A Greenville.

"It was definitely shocking for me and my family, but right away when I found out, I knew I was going to beat it. I had that mentality going into it," Rizzo said Tuesday before going 1-for-2 with a double in the Padres' 4-1 win over the 51s at Cashman Field. "It was definitely scary, but the doctors in Boston and the Red Sox did a great job ensuring everything was going to be all right.

"That was real comforting for me and my family."

Rizzo underwent chemotherapy treatments for the next six months, his cancer went into remission, and he resumed his career in 2009.

"It took me until spring training the next year to feel really good, and I had to get baseball going again," he said. "It took a little while to get everything back strength-wise."

Rizzo was at full strength last season, when he compiled 25 homers and 100 RBIs en route to being named Boston's Minor League Player of the Year.

In December, he was shipped to San Diego, along with pitcher Casey Kelly and outfielder Reymond Fuentes, for Gonzalez.

Rizzo, who like Gonzalez can hit for power and average and is a slick fielder at first base, said he was honored to be traded for a player of his caliber.

"An All-Star first baseman getting traded for a first baseman, it's a great opportunity here," he said. "I'm just trying to be myself and create a legacy for myself."

Tucson manager Terry Kennedy has been impressed with Rizzo's performance this season but more so by his comeback from cancer.

"Being that young when your whole life is in front of you -- you've just signed and you're starting to live the dream that you've worked for -- I can't imagine," he said. "But I'm sure, in some ways, that it steeled his will even more. You have to have that kind of attitude to be a professional ballplayer anyway.

"He's an impressive young guy. He plays every day and he doesn't complain. I'm happy to see somebody like that."

Regarding Rizzo's possible promotion to the Padres this year, Kennedy said it's more a question of when it happens rather than if it happens.

Either way, Rizzo said his brush with cancer has helped him put things in proper perspective.

"It gave me a whole better outlook on the game and life in general," he said. "I don't take things for granted anymore.

"The game was taken away from me and I couldn't control it. I just never really take a day for granted, a game or anything for granted."

■ NOTES -- Rizzo left the game in the sixth inning after aggravating a bruise on his left (throwing) hand. ... 51s third baseman Brett Lawrie was taken to a hospital for X-rays after getting hit by a pitch on his left hand in the first inning. He suffered only a bruise.

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