When Willson Contreras went down with a hamstring injury in San Francisco last month, everybody wondered who would step up in his absence.
Answer: Anthony Rizzo.
Contreras was giving Giancarlo Stanton a run for his money for the title of hottest hitter on the planet and in his stead, Rizzo has stepped up to become one of the game's best run producers.
Rizzo is the driving force behind the best second-half offense in baseball, a team that has scored double digit runs eight times since the All-Star Break and is averaging 6.5 runs per game since Aug.