Cubs call up top prospect Schwarber to DH in upcoming games

Cubs manager Joe Maddon said Monday that he hadn't thought ahead to using the DH in upcoming games at Cleveland and Minnesota.

Apparently his bosses had.

The Cubs said Monday night that hot prospect Kyle Schwarber would come up from Class AA Tennessee and stay for six games before going to Class AAA Iowa. Schwarber, a catcher taken in the first round of last year's draft, figures to see action as the DH when the Cubs go to Cleveland Wednesday and to Minnesota for the weekend.

"Kyle has had a tremendous developmental year so far behind the plate, with the bat, and as a leader," said Cubs President Theo Epstein. "His next stop is to continue his development as a catcher at Triple-A. First, however, he is going to join the major-league team for six days to contribute as a designated hitter, as a bat off the bench and as a third catcher. He will also use the time in the big leagues to experience firsthand all that goes into being a major league catcher. Regardless of how this week goes, Kyle will head to Triple-A after Sunday's game.

Schwarber, 22, has a line of .320/.438/.579 with 13 homers and 39 RBI at Tennessee.

MLB.com reported Monday that this year's top Cubs pick, Ian Happ, has signed.

Rain may help:

The postponements are piling up on the Cubs.

Heavy rains Monday forced the Cubs to call off their night game against the Cleveland Indians at Wrigley Field.

The makeup game is set for Aug. 24. The Cubs have had three home games rained out and one at Cincinnati.

There might be an upside, at least for the immediate future.

Because of a long rain delay Saturday and an 11-inning game Sunday, the bullpen has been taxed. The Cubs currently are carrying 14 pitchers, which means manager Joe Maddon has only three position players available off the bench. Pitchers Travis Wood and Jason Hammel need to be ready to pinch hit.

As long as this arrangement continues, Maddon and the Cubs are living on the edge.

"Always, absolutely," Maddon said. "You're trying to win the game, and if you just keep holding back, holding back, you might not get to the point where you can win the game.

"You only keep it (the larger pitching staff) as long as you need it. If tonight's game were to be rained out, it could get you back to solvency relatively quick, and if not, you might have to extend it a little bit further."

Walk-offs in the park:

Shortstop Starling Castro had walk-off game-winning hits Saturday and Sunday.

According to Elias, Castro is the first Cub to record walk-off RBI hits in consecutive team games since Hall of Famer Ron Santo did it in 1966.

Castro is rebounding from a poor May, when his OPS was only .538. It was .759 in April, and so far in June, Castro has an OPS of .768.

"I'm starting to feel pretty good," he said Monday. "I'm ready for the fastball. I'm really happy. I think I can do more than that. I'm feeling good every day and coming here to try to win a game."

Maddon seems to like what he's seeing of late from Castro.

"I think he's getting better," Maddon said. "He just works so hard. His work has been great. He's hit in the past. He's hit at a very high level in the past, which tells me he's going to do it again. We've talked about that he's been trying a little bit too hard at times. That's where I think that rollover groundball comes from, trying to do too much. The last two nights in big moments, line drive up the middle and line drive in the gap.

"I've always said to him I'd like to see left-center be his left-field foul line, meaning to not try to pull the ball so much."

Ramirez to rehab stint:

Relief pitcher Neil Ramirez, who has been on the disabled list since April 16 with right-shoulder inflammation, will begin a minor-league rehab assignment Wednesday at Class AA Tennessee.

The Cubs bullpen has been better of late, but the team has missed Ramirez, a hard-throwing right-hander.

"He could be a huge part of what we're doing; he is a huge part of what we're doing here," Maddon said. "Looking at him in spring training, I was really excited about all of that.

"The group of relief pitchers in spring training was pretty impressive. We were knocked back a little bit. Getting him back can really solidify that whole group."

No change in plans:

The Cubs' pitching rotation will not change despite Monday's rainout. Jake Arrieta will start Tuesday's game against Trevor Bauer.

When this home-and-home series shifts to Cleveland on Wednesday, lefty Tsuyoshi Wada will pitch. So everybody gets an extra day of rest.