Chicago Cubs: Kyle Schwarber’s discipline, leather helping resurgence

The resurgence of Kyle Schwarber has been a boost to the Chicago Cubs’ struggling offense. Aside from his bat, improved plate discipline and a renewed sense on defense have helped drive his success.

Last year when the Chicago Cubs sent Kyle Schwarber to Triple-A Iowa, things didn’t look good.

He carried a .171/.295/.378 slash line when that decision came down the pipeline from the brass. A World Series legend on the North Side less than a year prior, reduced to a head-scratching struggling outfielder. Despite it all, the Cubs believed (and still do) the former first-rounder had barely scratched the ceiling of what he was capable of.

Despite a marked offense improvement in the second half, Schwarber finished the year with a disappointing .211/.315/.467 line. The main bright spot? His career-high 30 home runs.

This past offseason, Schwarber was the talk of the town. He lost 30 pounds in hopes of rebounding and increasing his production at the dish. So far, its all systems go for the young slugger.

Schwarber, in his first 30 games of the season, through 103 plate-appearances, slashed .270/.369/.562 with seven home runs and 17 RBI. He is currently sitting on a .391 wOBA and 149 wRC+. With every aspect of his game seemingly improved, two unique aspects of his game stand out: plate discipline and his fielding.