Kyle Schwarber Demoted to Triple-A Iowa by Cubs, Currently Hitting .171

The Chicago Cubs demoted the versatile Kyle Schwarber to the Triple-A Iowa Cubs on Thursday following continued struggles at the plate during the opening months of the 2017 MLB season.

David Kaplan of CSN Chicago noted Schwarber, who currently owns a .171 batting average, isn't expected to stay in the minors for long. The demotion is being viewed as a chance to "clear his head."

The 24-year-old slugger has spent a lion's share of his time in left field this season, but he's also made appearances at catcher and first base. His struggles in the field—he owns a minus-four Defensive Runs Saved figure in left, per Fangraphs—made it tougher to accept his hitting woes.

His power remained evident with 12 home runs through 64 games, which would put him on pace for 27 over the course of the season. Alas, the fact homers made up 32 percent (12-of-38) of his total hits caused his other hitting numbers to lag.

Last month, Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein made it clear the organization hadn't lost faith in the Indiana University product, per Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago.

"If anyone wants to sell their Kyle Schwarber stock, we're buying," Epstein said. "If they want to sell low, we'll buy low. He's going to have tremendous production at the end of the year. He's going to have a lot of big hits to help us win games. It just means there's a lot of hits out there for the rest of the year."

While the outfielder's .193 average on balls in play does suggest bad luck has played a role in the problems, the lack of consistent production made it tough to keep him in the lineup every day.

Jon Jay figures to garner most of the extra playing time in left field until Schwarber makes his return. It wouldn't be a surprise to see the Cubs wait until after the All-Star break next month to bring him back, unless he dominates Triple-A pitching right out of the gate.