It’s well known that Cubs brass has long revered Kyle Schwarber, the fourth overall pick in 2014 whom the team refused to part with in trades during ensuing seasons. The big-bodied Schwarber was a catcher in his younger days, though there was much skepticism the ex-Indiana Hoosier would carve out a future in the majors behind the plate. Indeed, despite having slimmed down in recent years, Schwarber hasn’t donned the tools of ignorance at all since 2017.
With no DH spot available in the National League and Anthony Rizzo holding down first base, Schwarber has settled in as the Cubs’ left fielder. Reviews have been mixed on Schwarber, who has simultaneously accounted for minus-13 Defensive Runs Saved and a plus-14.6 Ultimate Zone Rating through upward of 2,700 innings in left. The fact that Schwarber hasn’t been unplayable in the outfield is a clear positive, but his left-handed bat will always be his carrying tool. However, despite the hype that has surrounded Schwarber in his career, he hasn’t emerged as a great major league hitter yet.
Schwarber was a tremendous college and minor league offensive performer who immediately made his mark in Chicago as a rookie in 2015, when he slashed .246/.355/.487 (131 wRC+) with 16 home runs across 273 plate appearances. In light of his stellar introduction, expectations were Schwarber would further cement himself as a linchpin of the Cubs’ lineup in 2016. Instead, though, he suffered a torn left ACL and LCL in April of that year and wound up missing all but two regular-season games. To his immense credit, Schwarber became something of a Chicago folk hero in rehabbing quickly enough to return for the World Series that autumn. Schwarber put the exclamation point on his Fall Classic comeback by slashing a fantastic .412/.500/.471 in 20 PA against the Indians to help the Cubs win their first title in 108 years.
The good times were supposed to keep rolling for Schwarber, but his output has been underwhelming since his triumphant return. Dating back to 2017, Schwarber has batted .226/.333/.466 with 74 homers, a 107 wRC+ and 5.6 fWAR over 1,340 trips to the plate. The 26-year-old has essentially been a league-average hitter (101 wRC+) through 344 PA this season, making him an unspectacular part of a team whose weeks-long slump has led to frustration from its higher-ups.
Here’s some much-needed positive news for the Cubs, though: Better days may be ahead for Schwarber. His hard-hit percentage ranks second among all qualified hitters who have totaled at least 100 batted ball-events this year, per Statcast, while his average exit velocity on line drives and fly balls checks in at 13th. Among batters who have accumulated at least 300 PA in 2019, FanGraphs credits Schwarber with the game’s seventh-lowest soft-contact percentage (10.8). Adding to the encouragement, Schwarber has increased his flies/liners while decreasing his grounders compared to 2018. He’s also making more contact while swinging and missing less than he did a year ago. All of that has helped Schwarber maintain his prodigious power despite so-so overall results this year, as he has chipped in 18 HRs with a .234 ISO.
With the above considered, it’s no surprise Schwarber’s expected weighted on-base average (.358) far outdoes his real wOBA (.331). However, just because Schwarber’s hitting the ball hard doesn’t automatically mean his production will positively regress. It doesn’t appear the strikeout-prone Schwarber is a sure bet to ever complement his power with a high batting average or a lofty BABIP (the latter’s at .269 this year, right in line with his career mark), so he has to compensate by drawing walks. Schwarber collected free passes a personal-best 15.3 percent of the time in 2018, assisting in a career-high .356 OBP and helping cancel out a .238 average. But his walk percentage has dropped to 12.5 – not far from his lifetime figure – this year. That’s still easily above average, but the 3 percent fall has limited Schwarber to a .326 OBP that’s barely better than the .322 MLB mean.
Average offensive numbers aren’t going to suffice for Schwarber, who Baseball America wrote in 2015 had a chance to become a “.300-hitting, 30-homer” force in the majors. While Schwarber’s power potential has indeed transferred to the bigs since then, the Cubs continue waiting for the rest of the offensive package to arrive.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
no.
No.
For everyone else saying no, I’d say yes. As a Cubs fan I’d make a bold statement and say that if not for him, the Cubs wouldn’t have won the World Series in 2016 against the Indians.
What he did in 2 weeks in 2016 doesn’t make him a good player now.
Schwarber is only 26 and heading into his prime years. I remember watching guys like Justin Turner who started off early as a nobody, but all the sudden now he’s considered a star. Baseball is an unpredictable sport no matter how you draw it out.
You are what you are until you aren’t. He’s roughly a league average hitter. Has been the past few years. I do believe he will turn it around.
Justin Turner and Justin Timberlake, too. He started off as just another member of a boy band but then emerged into a true star.
“”and Justin Timberlake, too.” Your credibility card has been confiscated.
A dramatic tale of 2 Justins.
Lol
Very good statement the dude has never hit above .250 yet and is a .229 lifetime hitter
Cubs were lucky because Cleveland had no tape and didn’t know how to pitch to him. Since that performance he’s been around average. I think the Cubs missed the window to trade him during the offseason for some pitching/prospects.
The same could be said for Schwarber who hadn’t hit major league pitching since the beginning of the 2016 season prior to his injury. The pitchers he hit against were no joke either. Cleveland had a great staff and I believe they still do. When the Cubs have struggled, he’s been the most consistent player getting on base. I’ll take his plate vision over most Cubs players on this team.
The pitchers had little to nothing on him, he had a stacked lineup to lean on and the Cubs have advanced scouting to give him everything he needed on the pitchers he was going to face.
Polish… Nice try, but your ‘hater’ is still showing.
Hater? If what I said doesn’t make sense then read it slower or have an adult break it down to you.
Ha! I knew you’d react.
Hahahaah they had no tape
There was nearly a full year of tape from 2015. His ML Debut was at Jacob’s Field first career hit was a triple. They had plenty of tape. Stop making excuses.
I am pretty sure they had .mp4 in 2015
Cubs won because they played a team with50 million less payroll. Their best catcher went down, Johnny Go es before series. Their best outfielder current all star Brantley was out with injury.
They lost Salazar and Carasco the number 2 and 3 pitchers in rotation for entire series. Tomlin wa burned out in bullpen.
And yet unlike old Joe, the manager never complained or made excuses.
Schwarber is hitting 188 in the clutch.
Last year he set a record of – 52 clutch hitting, next worse guy was – 2.
Cub fans are delusional.
I hope you enjoyed the cubs winning in 2016 as much as I did. Go Cubs!
You mentioned Carrasco and Salazar but also there was Bauer and his drone accident which doomed him too. Gomes and Brantley plus an injured Kipnis, but not going to make any excuses.
Of course they are delusional. One and done. They kept talking dynasty’s was a fluke year where everything had to fall just right. Shouldn’t have even been there with that bunch of cocky misfits.
They wont because they were the better team..
Mike Napoli didn’t hit a lick
The Indians relied way to heavily on Corey Kluber and Andrew Miller and it cost them. To be fair Glayber Torres should have gotten the cubs Chapman and Andrew Miller. As we all know Brian Cashman is greedy and wanted 6 prospects/players for 2 players. In two separate players.
I’m glad the Indians got miller. Otherwise grandpa rossy doesn’t hit a home run in his last ever at bat. You can’t make that kind of thing up.
Cluttered with too many mistakes to list
Nope. No mistakes
If not for the Indians losing their top two SPs, THEY would’ve won that WS.
And if my grandmother had balls she’d be my grandfather….
U would have no mother/father if that were the case
We have no tape on his grandparents
The Cubs finally got to Kluber in Game 7. I think Kluber was their best pitcher that year.
A Cubs fan saying yes? Shocking.
How about “maybe”?
Probably the best answer.
Yes. He should be better than this.
He’s always mashed way better in the minors.
This is what you can end up with via the game’s most overrated executive.
World Series rings are so overrated
Unless you are just in it for the money and/or groupies, the rings are kind of the whole point.
How are they overrated? The cubs are the only team in sports history to spend 5 million dollars on rings. And give out rings to former players and 10 fans. Among every single vendor that works at Wrigley. 1908 rings given out in total. That’s not overrated that’s classy as hell
More like gimmicky as hell
Overrated how?
When did Mozeliak take over as the Cubs President of Baseball Operations?
Even on an article about a Cubs player here you are talking about the Cardinals….what a sad, lonely life you must lead.
Yeah, that makes my life sad and lonely? Thanks Doc.
and manager!
So glad the Sox got Jimenez instead of this guy in the Quintana fleecing. What other players could the Cubs have gotten for him? Corey Kluber maybe?
Yankees had a lot of interest at one time, but it’s waned over the years. Hindsight is always 20/20 but the Cubs have probably missed the opportunity to sell high on him.
I still think he could reach his potential as a hitter if he was moved to the AL where he could DH. Even as part of a platoon, he’d get most of the ab’s and it would be interesting to see what numbers he’d put up in 400 AB’s against almost exclusively right handed pitching.
Schwarber 30 HR guy but not close to .300. Jimenez, below average OF with weak arm and injured prone. Good news though, he’ll average 35 HR’s. Cease, injured prone too, can’t disagree about trading both but could have done better than Quintana. The Cubs made this trade to save money, instead of Verlander.
Not just Jimenez we also gave you Cease that was an awful trade by Theo.
And let’s not forget Matt Rose and Bryant Flete!
Two players that are out of baseball now. They were throw ins. Like adam Warren was a throw in for Chapman.
What r u talking about?!
Rose in Frontier League playing for Schaumburg. Working his way back.
Flete in same league in southern IL.
They will be back!!
Doubt that
Dumb comment from a sox fan.
Would you expect anything less? Let’s revisit the trade this time next year when Cease is having TJ, and Jimenez is sputtering along with the rest of the team.
This one is not going to age well. Get used to it…Sox are going to own Chicago from 2020-2025.
Cease proactively took care of TJ a long time ago when Cubbies still gave him $1.5Mil to sign.
Did u see him hit 100 this past Wednesday!!!?
The Yankees originally wanted Schwarber for Chapman instead of Torres and Epstein wouldn’t do it.
Another rumor back then was Chapman and Miller for Schwarbs , Torres and a 3rd player
Schwarber is like having a 3 year old iPhone.
Which means nothing because all iPhones are literally the same phone other Than color and size. Ita the same phone year in and year out
…and Schaumburg didn’t get the update, exactly.
Sometimes guys fall way off if they can’t adjust. I remember Bob Hamelin MASHING for the Royals to a ROY and then just falling off the planet.
For me, it’s Joe Charbonneau. But po-tay-to, po-tah-to.
Don’t forget Cory Snyder. What a special talent…
Kevin Maas. But I comp Schwarber more to Rob Deer and Pete Incaviglia.
He’s as good as what his numbers say. But he could be better with a change of scenery.
Maybe not, if he gets dealt to a lineup without the protection he sees now he won’t be able to carry that lineup.
He’s better than his sometimes partner at 1b when at IU.. Sam Travis.
Those IU teams did have 3 pretty darn good offensive players for a cpl years together in Schwarber, Bennintendi and Travis tho.
Wrong, Andrew Benitendi didn’t play for IU, he played college baseball at Arkansas.
30 homer power can be found everywhere around the league, it’s not that special anymore. If he cannot bring any speed or defense or high OBP to the table, he should be considered one-dimensional and limited. Great? Not until he proves it.
Schwarby will always have a place as a Cub after that ‘16 Series.
I think he’s almost too selective at the plate, and seems to have lost some of the masher in him. To his credit, he walks…which is great in front of B/R/B. But he takes a lotta called third strikes.
The extreme shifting had also seemed to effect him. I always felt he’s got a .300/.400/.500 30 HR ceiling. He’ll need to rally on second half to get there obviously.
Cub fans hanging on to that one fluke year in the last 110 years. Laughable really. Nobody else cares. Still the longest losing streak in any sport. Let’s move on and quit bringing it up every cub post.
“fluke.” ROTFLMAO
How bout you stop commenting on every post and move on yourself.
It’s still killing him that they won three years ago and that the Cards have been beneath the Cubs since the 2015 NLDS Themed is old and bitter, not too many years left for him. Likes to bring up 1946, but that’s what you do when you’re down about 1946.
Latter 1946 should be the future.
Themed, way to keep that insecurity in check.
Pot, meet kettle
Correct Yabbial. You’re the pot. Themed is the kettle. Or you could title the two of you, Dumb and Dumber.
theme boy… If you’re gonna hate, at least be original.
Sheeple have no originality or creativity.
It’s those pet names which make Cubby fans sound so foolish and not credible.
Is there an original thought you have to share that would make your homer comments more credible?
Geez, it’s been less than 3 years, Sox fans rubbed their 05 WS win in Cubs fans’ faces for nearly 10 years.
Cubs missed their spot to trade high but I do believe he’s better than this. I agree with Dawson on being too selective. He’s been combatting that with first pitch swings but doing that too much will also bite him, ala Almora first pitch swings.
One of the most overrated players in MLB.
That list is long. There are lots of overrated players in baseball.
Nick, true. BUT he still is one of the most overrated.
No question, but at $3.4M salary, you let him keep playing. The Cubs don’t have many options to replace him right now.
What if Luke Voit ended up being a better major league hitter then Schwarber?
He already is
That’s okay. The Cards have Goldy for his declining years.
ThE cArDs HaVe GoLdY fOr HiS dEcLiNiNg YeArS
He fits well with Wainwright, Molina, Fowler and Carpenter. They can all play out their twilight years together. Then each October they can hit the links as a foursome, and one can forecaddie.
They’ve all got more World Series appearances than the current cub players combine son!
Here’s a comment that has as much relativity to the discussion as yours. Gas is $2.48/gallon today.
Themed, you care to revise your asinine statement about Fowler, Goldy, Waino, Molina and Carpenter having more WS appearances than all current Cubs players combined? Nevermind, I’ll make you look like an azz anyway, because it’s so easy. Those 5 Cardinals have 7 WS appearances combined. Molina 3, Waino 2, Carpenter 1, Fowler 1, Goldy 0.
Lester 3, Hamels 2, Descalso 2…shall I continue? Let’s see, Hendricks 1, Schwarber 1, Heyward 1, Russell 1, Baez 1, Darvish 1. Shall I go on? Bryant 1. Rizzo 1. I think I can stop now, SON.
Popped a long one in last nights flag flying W. And probably will have MVP second half as they leave the cubs in the dust once again!
As Maxwell the Pig would say, “Weeeee!”
Oh my god dude when was the last time the Cards left the Cubs in dust? What 2015? No they only finished 2 games ahead of the Cubs so I guess 2014 possibly. Hah and you know the irony of irony considering who this post is even about- Kyle Schwarber single handedly DESTROYED the Cardinals in the NLDS that year. Get a clue dude. St. Louis hasn’t been relevant in half a decade.
You make half a decade sound like an eternity. In baseball terms it’s nothing. Winning multiple World Series in the span of five years is next to impossible. You as a cubs fan should know that as the cubs are quickly coming up on a half a decade since their win. And that win was supposed to start a dynasty. No you get a clue sir.
Simply responding to and I quote “leave the Cubs in the dust once again”. Making that statement when the 100% exact opposite has happened in 3 consecutive seasons. Of course the Cards have more historical success but at the moment no. Sir.
That’s ok. The cubs used a fourth overall pick on a catcher from Indiana who has no position. His price tag will go up as his batting average goes down. Trade Scwarbs while you can.
And Schwarber is and never will be as good as Justin Turner!
So he is now, but never will be?
People forget that Turner didn’t take off and become what he is now until his age 29 season. He struggled just as much if not more as a member of the Mets org. than Schwarber has in his previous seasons.
he’s not a bad player by any means. just average or only slightly above.
Totally average dude, has a good eye and walks a lot. I don’t know a single person who thinks he’s a star or even a media member anywhere not even the Kapman who raves about him so I don’t see him as overrated he’s just about properly “rated”.
Very overrated!
Cubs version of Nick Castellanos. Below average defensive player that the team he plays for values more than the rest of the league.
I think Schwarber could go. Epstein has been bullish on him, refusing to trade him when his value was at its peak. I understand that Epstein was banking on him developing into the hitter most people thought he would be, but it just hasn’t happened yet. Not to say it won’t, it’s just seeming less and less likely.
He seems like a great guy / teammate and I like him, but it’s time for the Cubs to maybe move on. He would still have some value to an AL team. Clearly not the value that he once did, but he is controlled for a couple more years and, if he platooned against righties, he’d probably put up 240 with 30+ hrs.
If the Cubs continue their mediocrity in the next couple of weeks and Theo wants to make a statement, Kyle will be the one to traded
Stick with him and he will get MUCH better. His attitude is great and the attitude of a manager towards any player greatly influences his preformance. Prediction … Schwarber will have a very good 2nd half, a great one if Maddon goes.
An Optimist…..except if Maddon goes, don’t expect Schwarber to start as much as he does…..possibly he’ll either go too, or could find more time on the bench if the new coach determines he has better options on the bench or via trade.
It’s “when” Maddon goes
As a WSox fan, is it your hope that the Cubs let him go so you can grab him? Maddon has won 92+ games in each of his 4 seasons in Chicago. In the 30 years before him, the Cubs had won 90+ games 3 times. In the past 25 seasons, the White Sox have won 90+ games 3 times. Before Maddon took over the losingest team in MLB history and won a WS, he took over the biggest joke in professional sports at the time, the Tampa Bay Rays. In his 9 seasons there, he won 90+ games 5 times, won multiple ALE division titles, and took them to a WS. I find it funny that some people actually think Joe Maddon is the problem and not the Cubs failure to develop pitching over the past decade.
Is it ur hope the lowly Cubbies keep him so they can finish 5th place – which is where they are headed!!!!?
Maddon is an embarrassment.
Get creative dude. If you’re gonna post a bazillion times on every Cubs post at least try to like say something
Off the topic question ncaachampillini…to which u of I championship is your handle referring to?
To everyone saying he’s overrated, it’s more like he was over-evaluated. If he was really overrated people would be saying what he’s doing NOW is more impactful than what it is and I’m not seeing that. Although at the same time I guess you could say looking back at his projections when he first came into the league he ended up BEING overrated. Splitting hairs maybe but…
In either case, some dudes don’t really turn it on until they are 29 or 30, he could very well be one of those types, but I don’t want to hang onto him another couple seasons to find out. If that ends up being the case then good for him.
Overrated works better than over evaluates IMO. Not everybody read the evaluations to know he was over evaluated yet when you hear his name he has name recognition. Then when you look up his career numbers it’s a shock that they are where they are, you’d think he’s had so much better if a career just off the name. I had to do a double take myself last time I look d.
Never has so much been written about nothing……The guy’s a warm body occupying a space, nothing more….if he played in Tampa or KC, nobody would know who he was…nor would anybody care……
Still, you cared enough to comment.
Bob you’re right, and better yet if he played in Boston or NY he could have a whole career like this and all of MLB would be expected to honor his retirement like he was an MLB legend.
Right? Sure. And you’re not a hater.
And I see you’re going to respond to every post I make. It’s getting old, time for you to find a new hero to follow.
And you’ve responded to every other comment on here and still no one’s paying attention. Just didn’t want ya to be lonely.
But somehow you’re paying attention and stalking me while living on the couch in your moms basement….mahh the meatloaf!
Good lord, you can’t even come up with anything better than that used up “mom’s and basements” chestnut. You just can’t handle gettin’ called out on your hater posts, can ya polish boy!?
Trade him to Colorado. He’d thrive there.
What a very bad idea Tom. Colorado has no use for him as they have 3 or 4 lefty hitting outfielders already. I have to add that Schwarber is a bum anyway.
Kyle Schwarber is a perfect example of why baseball is what is today. Put a bunch of sluggers out in the field, hope for a 3 run HR, and watch pitchers afraid to throw strikes. Meanwhile, 3.5 hours later, you just watched a game with 10 walks, 22 strikeouts and 5 HR. Truly a work of art.
This. Perhaps that’s why baseball isn’t as great as it once was. Love HRs but would rather see more hits and more strategy. Not a bunch of walks a HR here and there. Yawn fest.
True
He wouldn’t be so bad if he was playing as catcher. He’d be an All-Star if he hit like this and was a catcher. Instead they moved him to LF and hasn’t catched once this year.
So true. In today’s game, if you have a career OPS+ of 98 as a catcher, you are apparently a 1st ballot HOF in some eyes.
There is another aspect to the game though. Defensively he was a terrible catcher. He had trouble handling velocity, his mobility wasn’t great before the knee went out, among the many knocks. You actually have to be able to competently catch, at least for a contending team, otherwise you basically have the reincarnate of Gattis. Teams viewed his as a 1b/DH for a reason.
It’s “caught”!
He’s overrated in my opinion. I root for him cause I like him and I do think most of his game is mental… but he’s not exactly as good as people make him out to be
No
The hype machine needs to be better monitored. Schwarber certainly isn’t the first over-hyped player and won’t be the last. If you are a fan of a different NLC team, then it’s likely you are happy the Cubs have held onto him. The Cubs could have gotten a considerable haul for him prior to this season, but the price is dropping.
Why is this guy writing about a quality ball player and not addressing the issue of keeping Russell and picking up hacks like Delscalso and Gonzales. They have minimal contributions. Anyone that says Russell contributes to the team has not played a team sport. If you get suspended for an illegal act you are not contributing to the team. Heyward has turned it around and Almora Jr is stepping up as well as Bote. By the way… Robel Garcia is going to be a star! Go Cubs Go!!
He’s paid for his crimes. He still has elite defensive value.
ITT; Jealousy
I thought the Cubs should have traded Schwarber after the 2016 World Series. They could have packaged him for Chris Sale. Cubs might have won every World Series since.
I like Schwarber too but he’s a square peg for a round hole; he’s not an outfielder and he should have been traded to an American League team when his value was at it’s highest..
Lol Thinking the Cubs would win 3 in a row. Get out of here.
Schwarber is a solid everyday player no he hasn’t lived up to the hype of a monster power hitting all-star but if they can acquire a 2B or SP to get them through 2021 they should do it solid everyday outfielders are easy to acquire
Overrated, underachiever – all just talk and subjective opinion. Nothing wrong with that until one starts confusing personal opinion with fact. Cub fans get lots of happy talk about Schwarber all the time – from Maddon, from the front office, even from the broadcasters. What’s he’s proving from my perspective is that he could be a decent LH batting DH. As far as his 2016 WS performance “winning the WS for the Cubs,” even if that were objectively true, that has nothing to do with mid-year 2019 and the business of trying to put a winner on the field this year. Schwarber’s OBP is only .326. That translates into a lot of Kris Bryant batting with one out, nobody on. It might be okay to have an all-or-nothing walk, strikeout homerun guy leading off, but you gotta do better than ,326 OBP to justify it – consider, if you will, Adam Dunn with his .237 career BA still managed an OBP of .364 for his career. I’m not particularly fond of “three outcome baseball,” but that’s the phase baseball is in right now. Anyway, with the personnel Epstein-Hoyer have put in place for Maddon, Rizzo or Bryant would be a better option leading off than Schwarber. His play in leftfield is not as awful as other Cub leftfielders I have seen, but he’s really a DH. I agree with all those who have noted that the ship has sailed on his trade value. You hit it on the head, davemlaw, the bold move would have been to ship him to an AL team between the 2016-17 season. Whether he and others would have been enough to pry Sale away from the Sox I won’t say, but they probably could have done pretty well. Of course that point is moot – no such deal was made. The way the personnel lines up today, it would be hard to deal Schwarber not just because of low value, but because they would have to get a LF back unless they want to move Bryant out there full time. I will of course be watching to see what, if anything, Tom Ricketts lets Epstein-Hoyer do.
63 – 43 Abreu vs Bryant RBI’s so far.
Not sure how many games Bryant batted 3rd this year, but that shows the value of a great leadoff hitter like Leury Garcia!
That’s beyond a faulty argument, and I don’t even have a dog in this fight.
Bryant has batted 2nd for all but 6 ABs (one game 5 ABs @ 3rd and 1 game with 1 @ 7th).
Ok then.
Even Moncada has 47 rbi in 6 fewer games total than KB. Mostly batting 2nd.
Are you really proving anything? Is Garcia such a great lead off hitter, if he is only about a league average hitter? Is he such a great leadoff guy, that KS has gotten on base more times? Or are you trying to prove a point so you’re twisting stats, that don’t really prove anything.
1) There is a DH factor in discussing such matters. That you’re simply glossing over.
2) The main objective of a leadoff hitter is to get on base, and well KS has done a better job at that than Garcia.
3) Does anyone truly care about the RBI count if runs are being scored? Seriously! KS has taken RBI chances taken away from Bryant, such a terrible leadoff hitter. Are we to assume his 5 leadoff HRs would have been cashed in if they were merely doubles/ singles.
It’s just a bad argument attempting to use RBIs to solely judge a hitter. This is what we know; KS has been a better hitter, KS has gotten on base more times than Garcia, and you using RBIs doesn’t prove anything.
Time to roast another Cubby.
This topic beat to death.
Toggle between this season’s stats for Schwarber & Dan Vogelbach. Vogelbach is reaching base at nearly .380 & his Ks to walks is in the same neighborhood as that of Rizzo resulting in Vogelbach being worth a win more than Schwarber as a DH. I agree with Thacker about where Schwarber’s value could grow: where he could DH regularly & occasionally show up in left or 1B if needed. In terms of this season for the Cubs, the absence of (vintage) Ben Zobrist highlights some of the team’s weaknesses because we’re seeing more of some players (Russell, Descalso, Schwarber, Bote (who’s been pretty good), and Contreras (in right field)) than we’d likely see were Zobrist on the roster & playing at full health. I like Schwarber, personally, he comes across a hard worker. Were he sent to the AL, I’d be happy to see his offensive numbers rise.
Can’t turn back the clock but the Cubs likely wish they would have taken Aaron Nola in 2014. Nola was picked up by the Phil’s at #7. The Cubs front office philosophy at that time was to draft hitters.
And I wish that the Cubs took Alex Jackson, so the Mariners wouldn’t end up wasting yet another first rounder.
Scariest part about KS’s mediocre offensive results is that it’s not platoon splits anymore. Used to be you could fairly argue his numbers were being killed by his left on left incompetence, which he never had in the minors so might improve in a longer sample. But now that’s all better and he’s STILL league average. He’s just not that good. Too much swing and miss for an ultra patient hitter like him. His patience puts him in lots of 2 strike counts but he’s not good from there.
Scharber is underrated defensively. He can field, but it does look like an adventure. For lead off hitter, scharber isn’t one. A bit of speed at a younger age. He’s not going to get a lead off hit, steal or advance to 2nd on a grounder and score. Just a homer run and power. Power is definitely there, just neeeds plate discipline and lower in the batting order, 5th or 6th.
No. Schwarber is an average hitter and subpar defender. He has great on base skills and power, but lacks consistency.
Thanks, dope.
cubs fans need to look past 2016 when it comes to evaluating players and the team as constructed. Cherish the championship in perpetuity, but realize that was three seasons ago. Most of the players from that team have plateaued since then, Schwarber included. In terms of talent, Happ, Almora, Russell, and Edwards simply haven’t lived up to expectations. They should be viewed as replacement players at this point. Theo understands this by now. A few big trades might be pending, or he might wait until the offseason. With the fat pockets the cubs have these days, a rebuild wouldn’t take long at all. They could easily be back in the driver’s seat for the NL Central by ‘21 or ‘22 if they can shed some big contracts, unload dead weight for prospects and spend aggressively on top free agents. Guys like Rendon, Lindor, and Scherzer will be FAs the next two years. Maybe swing a deal on a few controllable young pitchers. It certainly beats the alternative of bringing Joe Girardi in and expecting him to win with this roster as constructed. Too many problem areas, not enough depth/talent to overcome.
These player deconstruction articles are terrible. Please stop.
No. Another great white hope. Good players evolve not diminish.
He’s not a lead off hitter and I am puzzled at the “wise” old Maddon keeping him there. Note Maddon again messed up with his bullpen as he pulled Acosio too fast! I am hoping for some changes as Theo mentioned – poor baseball being played by many on the Cubs. Of course the players want Maddon to stay as he doesn’t hold the millionaires accountable! One would think after nearly five years of managing the Cubs these issues would be resolved!
Schwarber 1/9 batting leadoff vs Sox this weekend. 4 K’s.
That sux!!
No what else “sux”?
8.1 IP
11 H
8 BB
12 ER
2.333 WHIP
2 L
????
Lucas overrated Giolito vs the Cubs this year! I wish he pitched for the Brewers and the Cubs would run away and hide with this division. Sorry I know exclamation marks are your thing dude but thank you Lucas!!!!!
Somehow I don’t think a guy whose batting average is in the 230s isn’t a leadoff man.