Chicago Cubs: Kyle Schwarber leadoff experiment, Part II

The leadoff spot for the Chicago Cubs has been an area of concern since 2016.   Kyle Schwarber was given the nod in 2017 and struggled to lead off games. Joe Maddon has once again put Schwarber in the leadoff spot, and it seems to be playing out well.

 Joe Maddon took some criticisms back in 2017 when he came out and said that Kyle Schwarber would bat leadoff. This was something new to Chicago Cubs fans because the previous two years we had the prototypical leadoff guy in Dexter Fowler.  Fowler was a guy that would see a lot of pitches to lead off a game, walk a lot, and could seal some bases. Schwarber is a guy that is going to walk and slug a bunch but also going to strike out a decent amount.

In 2017 Schwarber struggled batting leadoff.  He batted only .190 with a .312 OBP in 37 games with 147 plate appearances batting in the leadoff spot. He hit seven home runs and drove in 18 but also struck out 48 times with only. This is part of the reason why Schwarber was sent down to Triple-A Iowa in 2017 to help him work on his approach at the plate. In what most considered a “down year” Schwarber still went on to hit 30 homers.

Maddon was forced to put Schwarber in the leadoff role this time around. With Ben Zobrist being away from the team, Daniel Descalso struggling and  Albert Almora struggles against right-handed pitchers he was only left with a few options. It seems like this time around Schwarber in the one hole is working out.

Before the start of the game, yesterday against the Cincinnati Reds in 30 plate appearances in the leadoff spot Schwarber was batting .267 with a .386 OBP. These numbers will soon change though as Schwarber hit his first career leadoff homer yesterday against the Reds.

That is Schwarber’s third home run this year in the leadoff spot, and he’s also driven in seven. Schwarber got off to a decent start to the year but then went cold. But since April 25 he is slashing .257/.402./.459 with a 19.6 BB% with a 40.4% hard-hit rate and a 41.2% fly ball rate.

These numbers seem to be pointing in the right direction as Schwarber is hitting the ball hard and in the air. Hopefully, Schwarber can continue to take his walks as well with Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, and Javier Baez all playing well behind him.  These are all great signs for Schwarber and the Cubs. It will be interesting to see if Schwarber can keep this up and continue to lead off games for the Chicago Cubs.