Chicago Cubs: Kyle Schwarber’s misunderstood defense
Kyle Schwarber has been considered a liability on defense for the Chicago Cubs, since his MLB debut in 2015. However, baseball is beginning to learn that it’s a little more complicated than that.
You don’t have to look very far for takes suggesting that the Chicago Cubs Kyle Schwarber be traded to the AL where he can work as a DH. It’s hard to argue the idea when you see clips like the one below.
But for every misplay you can find from Kyle Schwarber in left field, there are at least two examples of him making hard, accurate throws from the outfield.
Kyle Schwarber’s agility is not suitable for an outfielder. He often does misplay balls, tries to do too much or otherwise allows more bases than a batted ball to left merits. But if and when Schwarber does retrieve the ball, baserunners beware.
A cannon to compensate slow feet
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Schwarber played catcher his entire career before reaching the majors, so when he makes strong throws from left, we shouldn’t be surprised.
But we are. We’ve been told Kyle Schwarber is a lousy outfielder–and to a certain extent, he is.
That’s where the confusion comes from: He’s not a complete outfielder. But the numbers would argue that Schwarber’s arm more than makes up for his agility shortcomings.
Schwarber’s 3.3 DEF is third best in baseball among left fielders. He leads the NL with seven outfield assists, and he only has on an error on the season.
Being in throwing distance of average in left would’ve been enough for most Cubs fans when it comes to Schwarber. Now he’s somehow among the best-left fielders in his league.
Fielding prowess good for Schwarber’s offensive game
If you watched a single 2017 Chicago Cubs game before the All-Star break, you probably know just how lost Schwarber was at the plate. Whether it was because Joe Maddon‘s trying him at leadoff or his readjusting post-injury, it was terrible. But after a brief minor league stint, Schwarber came back as good as ever.
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After losing weight and working on his agility this past offseason, Kyle Schwarber has hardly missed a beat in 2018. And his defensive success has to play into that. Before 2018, he was going to the ballpark every day as a liability on one side of the ball.
Kyle Schwarber has been a liability in left field for most of his career for the Chicago Cubs. But now, he’s a legitimate threat to baserunners.