Kyle Schwarber's Call-Up Could Be Just What Cubs Need to Ignite Offense

The first time the Chicago Cubs called up top prospect Kyle Schwarber, it was just for a quick look-see that didn't figure to impact the Cubs' season in any major way.

But now Chicago is calling on Schwarber again. And this time around, he's going to get a chance to be just what Dr. Johnny on the Spot ordered.

Last Saturday, veteran catcher Miguel Montero jammed his thumb in a 5-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox. The Cubs are expected to put him on the disabled list Friday, and the word from Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com (h/t Carrie Muskat) is that Montero could be out as long as six weeks.

So, the Cubs are going to need a fill-in at catcher for a while. Here's guessing they didn't think too hard before dialing Schwarber's number. Mayo reported the news:

Like that, we can cue the hype machine! Again!

In Schwarber, the Cubs are calling on the guy they drafted with the No. 4 overall pick in 2014 and who entered 2015 ranked as a consensus top-100 prospect. Baseball America even went as far as to rank the lefty-swinging slugger 19th overall.

Nowadays, the 22-year-old Schwarber is even more highly regarded. He checks in as the No. 10 prospect on Keith Law of ESPN.com's latest rankings and at No. 6 for Baseball America.

Such is life, apparently, when you're having the kind of season Schwarber is having.

He earned his first promotion of 2015 after destroying Double-A pitching to the tune of a .320 average and 1.017 OPS. Schwarber then flashed some dominant potential in his major league cameo in June, batting .364 with a homer and a triple in six games. In 17 contests at Triple-A, he hit .333 with a 1.036 OPS.

In addition, Schwarber was last seen winning the MVP at the Futures Game, his reward for a two-run triple that gave the U.S. team the lead for good in an eventual 10-1 victory over the World team.

With all this in his rearview mirror, Schwarber is riding plenty of momentum into his second stint in The Show. And the way the Cubs are going, he has to be looking less like one of their best prospects and more like a savior with a bat in his hands.

Nick Wass/Associated Press/Associated Press

The Cubs aren't having a bad year, though. Their 47-40 record is a huge improvement from where they've been the last few campaigns. And if the season ended today, it would grant them entry into the postseason via the National League's second wild card.

Scoring runs, however, has been a bit of a problem of late.

Per FanGraphs, the Cubs have scored just 91 times over the last 30 days. That ranks 24th in the majors and puts them just one measly run ahead of the Giancarlo Stanton-less Miami Marlins.

And really, it's not just the last 30 days that the Cubs offense has been struggling. Break down their runs per game into monthly splits, and a distressing pattern emerges:

• April: 4.45
• May: 3.79
• June: 3.74
• July: 3.25

This isn't lost on the locals, and the Cubs aren't blind to it, either.

"We have the pieces to have a good offense," general manager Jed Hoyer recently told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. "We have some guys who have been struggling, especially over the past three weeks. We're fortunate we've won a lot of low-scoring games over the past three weeks to hide a little bit of our struggles. But we've got to get back to scoring runs."

On that last note, Schwarber living up to his talent could be a big help in solving the problem.

The most impressive tool in Schwarber's belt is his power. It's led to a .591 slugging percentage and 16 home runs in the minors this year. And he showed he can make his power play in the majors with this impressive opposite-field home run in Cleveland:

On that swing, you can get a good sense of not only Schwarber's bat speed but also of the power he can generate with his thick lower half. With goods like those, it's no wonder MLB.com and others expect him to be an annual 30-homer guy down the line.

The downside is that Schwarber also has the same weakness as many other young power hitters: strikeouts.

He kept his strikeouts in control in the lower minors, but opposing pitchers have punched him out in 31 percent of his last 90 plate appearances between the majors and Triple-A. It would appear that higher-level pitching has been a real challenge to his contact ability, and the Cubs should expect that to continue for now.

But they'll take it if it comes with some power and a dose of Schwarber's other main talent: discipline. For a guy who models his game after Joey Votto, that's kind of a must-have.

David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

"I love watching Joey Votto hit," Schwarber told ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. "He has this awesome approach at the plate, and I tried to make it into my own when I was in college. He just wants to get his pitch, and when he gets his pitch, he doesn't miss it. That's what I took from it. I tried to make it my own and I kind of hound myself on it."

Schwarber doesn't have the Cincinnati first baseman's pure hit tool, but he's not bad at emulating Votto's ability to draw walks. Though he only walked once in 23 trips to the plate in the majors, he drew seven in 67 plate appearances at Triple-A. That's a 10.4 walk percentage, which fits with his track record of double-digit walk rates throughout his minor league career.

So though Schwarber is likely going to whiff too much to really light it up on offense in the coming weeks, he should draw enough walks and make enough loud contact to pass as an above-average hitter. 

And right now, that's a notion that should sound like music to the Cubs' ears.

By adjusted OPS+, the Cubs have two of the National League's 12 best hitters in Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant. But outside of them, the only regulars they have who pass as above-average hitters are Chris Coghlan and Montero. And the way he's been hitting over the last two months, it's been quite a while since Montero was even close to an above-average hitter.

Schwarber's presence thus has a chance of upping Chicago's collection of quality hitters from two to three. Relative to what it's been doing lately, that alone could prove to be a boon for the Cubs offense.

Beyond that, there's always the possibility of the Cubs playing the "good hitting is contagious" card. Perhaps the Rizzo-Bryant-Schwarber trio could inspire the likes of Starlin Castro, Addison Russell and Jorge Soler—who's a good bet for a hot second half to begin with—to start hitting up to their capabilities.

DAVID BANKS/Associated Press

Mind you, the Cubs are more than just a competent offense away from being a complete team. Especially if Schwarber is doing the catching, as Baseball America seems to speak for everyone in reporting that his defense "still needs work." And if Law is right about Schwarber's receiving being his main weakness, the catcher is not going to help cover up the soft spot at the back end of the Cubs rotation.

Nonetheless, this may be mere nit-pickery. Schwarber may not be a be-all, end-all savior for the Cubs, but he has what he needs to give the team an offensive boost. And knowing Chicago has gotten to 47-40 despite its offense getting worse every month, an offensive boost is the one thing it should be asking for right now.

And if Schwarber can indeed give it one, this latest call-up could prove to be his last.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted/linked.

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