Chicago Cubs: It’s time to take Kyle Schwarber out of the leadoff spot

Chicago Cubs’ Joe Maddon shocked everyone in the baseball community when he announced that burly slugger Kyle Schwarber was going to be his leadoff man. The results so far say it’s time to move on from the idea.

In today’s increasingly analytically-centric baseball world, we’re seeing more and more teams experiment with using on-base percentage rather than steals to determine who bats first in the lineup.

The Chicago Cubs‘ Joe Maddon‘s experimenting as well. He’s tabbed Kyle Schwarber with leading off, and the results leave more to be desired. In the leadoff spot, Schwarber is batting a putrid .200/.327/.337 with three homers and only nine RBIs in 24 games. He also has 34 strikeouts, first in the league. Frankly, he’s been awful.

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Having an OBP over 100 points higher than your batting average is impressive no matter how you look at it. If Schwarber weren’t walking at an above-average rate, he’d be one of the leagues’ least-productive players.

Maybe not the right move?

Part of the reason Maddon wanted Schwarber batting first was so he could use his keen batting eye. Indeed Schwarber sees a ton of pitches – he’s 5th in the league in pitches per plate appearance – but actual results have yet to be seen.

The 24-year-old’s poor showing so far has been the result of a mixture of things, but surprisingly not what some would think. His swinging strike percentage and contact rate are both lower and higher than his 2015 campaign when he clubbed 16 homers and 42 RBI. So what’s the deal?

They call him “Babe,” not legs

A big slugger like Schwarber is at his best when he’s hitting the ball in the air. However, he’s hitting the ball on the ground at a higher percentage than his last healthy campaign, and he’s hitting it in the air at a lesser rate. That’s not a very good combination.

Furthermore, his pull percentage is lower than it was in 2015. When you’re a slugger, and you’re hitting the ball on the ground more than in the air, all the while not maximizing your power when you do hit it in the air, it’s a recipe for disaster.

It’s impossible to say if batting leadoff is making Schwarber struggle the way he is. In any case, a change needs to be implemented because he isn’t getting the job done.

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A spot lower in the lineup could relieve some of the pressure that Schwarber may be experiencing, where he’ll mainly be tasked with driving runners in instead of simply getting on base for Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo, among others.

Schwarber’s still a player the Cubs should want in the lineup. Just not as the leadoff man.