Chicago Cubs: Sending down Kyle Schwarber the wrong move
The Chicago Cubs are making a mistake by sending down the slumping Kyle Schwarber.
Let’s be honest, Kyle Schwarber has been terrible this season. The Chicago Cubs slugger is hitting an extremely ugly .171/.295/.378 on the year. The Cubs have been floating around .500 all season long and cannot afford that kind of shaky production in the lineup.
Sending Schwarber to Triple-A to work out the kinks is not surprising. However, that does not mean it is the right move.
I want to get this out of the way first. I trust Theo Epstein and company to make the right move 100% of the time. This front office, coaching staff and group of players did the impossible when they won the World Series last season and they did it the right way, setting the Cubs up with a group that can win many titles. However, that does not mean that I agree with every move they make.
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Schwarber’s season long numbers are ugly. His 78 wRC+ (FanGraphs) for the season puts him in the poor to below average rate when it comes to producing runs. On top of that his 28.7% strikeout rate is awful and we all know that Schwarber is not a strong defender in the outfield.
Turnaround coming?
That being said, there are reasons to believe that he was about to break out in a big way. Schwarber’s .193 Batting Average on Balls in Play (BABIP) is incredibly low and suggests that he has run into some bad luck. Now, his ridiculously high strikeout rate obviously does not help, but Schwarber is due for some better luck.
Also, he has performed much better during the month of June. Schwarber is hitting the ball with more authority in June (.522 slugging percentage and a .326 ISO) and has simply been more productive (119 wRC+). His high strikeout rate (27.3%) is still a concern but his elite 16.4% walk rate is incredibly encouraging.
Plus, despite hitting the ball hard on a consistent basis in June, his BABIP is still painfully low at .185. I cannot stress this enough, that kind of bad luck cannot last all season. Schwarber is due for some breaks to go his way. As long as he keeps taking his walks and hitting the ball hard, he will be fine.
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While his high strikeout rates are still a concern, the advanced stats back up Schwarber turning his season around quickly. The Chicago Cubs sending him down does not make sense in my eyes.