Doc is right, that there are overweight position players who succeed and who use that weight to their benefit. Power hitters like Ortiz.
I wasn't saying all players with bellies are useless.
Athleticism was the word I emphasized. It is possible to be thin and unathletic, or fat and very athletic. There are sumo wrestlers who are more athletic than an NFL linebacker.
Athleticism isn't just body fat percentage. It's the ability of a person to command their body and make it do sports motions well and with stamina and speed.
Prince Fielder was very athletic until he hit about 30 and started having back problems that crippled his workouts. When I was working for the Yankees, I remember being shocked to find that Fielder's true time to first base was 4.1 seconds...That's faster than average! Faster than every Mariner position player I'm 2013'except Saunders, and a couple of the role players.
Vogelbach is grotesquely unathletic. Not just because he's a beefcake. He has some of the worst body control you'll ever see for a guy with his history of success at this game.