The Cubs came into the All-Star break at 47-40, a distant eight games back of the NL Central-leading Cardinals but one game up on the Mets for the second wild-card spot. The North Siders are clearly a team on the rise and ready to contend right now.
Unfortunately, their chances took a hit on Thursday, when starting catcher Miguel Montero was placed on the DL with a thumb injury that could sideline him for six weeks. Montero is hitting .230/.337/.392 (104 OPS+) with 10 home runs this summer and rates as one of the game's best pitch-framers according to StatCorner.
Losing a veteran starting catcher is never good, but prospect hounds will love that the Cubbies are calling up top prospect Kyle Schwarber to replace Montero on the roster. Schwarber, the fourth overall pick in last year's draft, is hitting .323/.430/.591 with 17 doubles and 16 homers in 75 minor league games at Double-A and Triple-A this year.
The Cubs called Schwarber up briefly a few weeks ago -- they were playing a bunch of interleague games on the road and used him at DH -- and he acclimated himself well by going 8 for 22 (.364) with a triple and a home run in six games. His impressive showing at the Futures Game last weekend earned him MVP honors.
It's unclear how the Cubs will use Schwarber since they now have three catchers on the roster, with him joining David Ross and Taylor Teagarden. That's a problem for manager Joe Maddon to solve, but one thing is clear: the Cubs are putting winning over Schwarber's development right now. He's the best option to help the team so they called him up. Plain and simple.
In a perfect world, Schwarber would spend more time in Triple-A to continue working on his catching, which is rough around the edges. His bat is way ahead of his glove and, frankly, you're not going to find many people outside the Cubs organization who think Schwarber will stick behind the plate long-term. They're smart to keep him there, but, right now, winning at the MLB level is priority, not developing Schwarber's glove.
Of course, this is a complete 180 from the team's approach earlier this year, when they sent Kris Bryant to Triple-A for two weeks at the outset of the season. The club claimed Bryant's third base defense needed more work, which was definitely true, but it was obvious he was one of the 25 best players in the organization. Bryant went to Triple-A and was called up two weeks later.
We all know the Cubs were manipulating Bryant's service time and pushing his free agency back by sending him down two weeks. The excuse they gave was his needed for defensive development though, an excuse that would easily (and legitimately) apply to Schwarber right now. Instead, the Cubs are going for it and putting the best team on the field, and that is never a bad move.
