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

Rejuvenation in left field

Diving into more analytically robust statistics, Kyle Schwarber has had a great start to his season in left field, despite some strange misplays which have come his way.

One stat, known as Revised Zone Rating, according to Fangraphs, takes measure of the proportion of balls hit into a fielders zone which he successfully coverts to an out. As the game has transformed with better measured stats such as Ultimate Zone Rating, this is a good way to introduce someone to analytical fielding statistics.

For Schwarber, his RZR his sitting at an above-excellent .957 through his first 174 innings in left field. He also has both a positive UZR and UZR/150 this season, which measures Ultimate Zone Rating over 150 games played.

In terms of DRS, or Defensive Runs Saved, which is exactly what it sounds like, last season Schwarber posted a porous -9 DRS. So far this season, he has a +1 DRS. Smaller sample size in comparison, however it has been a huge improvement for all.

Next: Cause for concern with Yu Darvish

Moving forward

As it is just a little more than a month into the new season, it can be difficult to judge success based on a limited amount of opportunity. That being said, Kyle Schwarber has entirely found his groove so far, in all aspects of his game.

For Schwarber, the Cubs and the fans, it is nice to see him produce at a level we’ve come to expect since he debuted. Now, it’s about staying healthy and continuing to mash. Do that and the sky is the limit for Kyle Schwarber.