Cubs prospect Schwarber's promotion is temporary, but significant
The Cubs are calling up Kyle Schwarber to the majors for just six days (mostly to DH), but this still matters. Here is why.
By
Matt Snyder
•
2 min read
The Cubs are calling up one of their top hitting prospects (we seem to keep saying that, though, right?) in Kyle Schwarber. With five games Wednesday through Sunday being on the road against AL teams, they'll need a DH and it will be Schwarber. After that, club president Theo Epstein has said that no matter what happens, Schwarber is headed to Triple-A to further work on his defense behind the plate.
So this is temporary, but it matters.
First of all, it shows how advanced Schwarber's bat is. He's done nothing but hit since being drafted fourth overall last June. His career in the minors has been 130 games, in which he's hit .333/.432/.610 with 28 doubles, 31 homers and 92 RBI. He was able to get to high Class A last season and this season he's played 58 games with Double-A Tennessee, in which he's slashed .320/.438/.579 with 10 doubles, 13 homers and 39 RBI. He's also walked 42 times against 49 strikeouts.
Schwarber becomes the fourth player from the 2014 draft class to make the bigs after pitchers Carlos Rodon, Brandon Finnegan and Jacob Lindgren, so he's the first position player.
Another reason this is significant is that it shows the Cubs aren't going to play the service time game with Schwarber. We all pretty much assumed that was the case, and here's the final answer. Now we can believe 100 percent that Schwarber will be back with the Cubs when rosters expand in September and it looks like they'll be a contender. That's quite a weapon to add to the bench, no? Think of him as the hitting version of Terrance Gore, pinch runner extraordinaire for the Royals last season.
Speaking of which, if the Cubs did miraculously make a World Series run (yes, yes, bring your obvious and uncreative snide remarks to the comments section -- and go find your Royals jokes from last year to match), there's your DH.
Anyway, the need to send Schwarber back down after the stretch of games with a DH is obvious. Not only do the Cubs have a very productive everyday catcher in Miguel Montero (130 OPS+, 9 HR, 25 RBI), but Schwarber has had lots of trouble with throwing out runners in Double-A. In 37 games behind the plate, opposing runners are 48 for 61 against him.
For perspective on that, the NL average for throwing out basestealers is 28 percent and Schwarber in Double-A is at 21 percent. In and of itself, that isn't egregious, but allowing 1.3 steals per game in Double-A is scary. So he'll continue to work on catching in Triple-A until getting the call in September, all the while probably punishing minor-league pitching.
So while this is indeed a temporary call, it matters. It's also real fun, especially in light of all the recent big-time callups. Joey Gallo, Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton, Francisco Lindor ... and now Kyle Schwarber joins a team with Kris Bryant and Addison Russell. Prospect hounds are loving 2015.
