Despite struggles, Schwarber has a plan for getting on track
Kyle Schwarber isn't the only Cubs batter struggling, but he seems to be getting most of the negative attention.
Part of that is because of where he's batting in the order: leadoff.
Part is likely because of his exploits in the World Series last year and in the 2015 postseason.
And part is because much is expected of Schwarber, a first-round draft pick with powerful offensive potential.
"I guess when it's going bad, it goes bad," he said after the weekend series at St. Louis. "I feel like I've been putting good swings on balls and just not getting the results that I want.
"I've just got to stay with the process. It's stinks but you can't let it bother you."
Let's take a look at Schwarber's numbers before we get to the stats for several other players and the team as a whole.
Entering Tuesday's series opener at Wrigley Field against Cincinnati, Schwarber has a batting line of .179/.313/.343 for an OPS of .656. He has 5 homers and 14 RBI.
It's interesting to note that Schwarber leads the Cubs in walks (24) and strikeouts (44).
If there are signs of encouragement, it's that Schwarber has a .313 on-base percentage despite a low batting average. That says something to manager Joe Maddon.
"It's hard to hit for a high number if you have too many at-bats, meaning you are putting too many bad pitches in play, you're not accepting your walks, you're not staying in the zone," said Maddon. "It's just hard. It's hard to hit .300, even .280 if you're constantly getting out of your zone.
"If you want that number to be good, where it says 'average,' to me you have to keep an organized strike zone and not build up so many at-bats."
The other number to flag is Schwarber's batting average on balls in play (BABIP). That number is .224. The league average generally settles at about .300. If the BABIP is significantly lower than .300, it usually means a batter is hitting into bad luck, with line drives and hard-hit flyballs being caught. In Schwarber's case, the low BABIP also is affected by teams shifting against him, turning singles or doubles to right field into groundouts to a fielder positioned in short right.
Other numbers to watch are the percentages of "hard" and "soft" contact Schwarber makes. According to FanGraphs, Schwarber's hard contact has dropped from 39.7 percent in 2015 (Schwarber missed almost all of last season with a knee injury) to 33.3 percent this year. The soft contact percentage has gone up from 15.4 to 21.1.
"I'm seeing great swings - ball fouled back, like straight back," Maddon said. "It's not coming over our dugout. Once in awhile it's pulled on something soft. But a lot of them are going straight back, meaning he's just underneath the ball."
As for the leadoff spot, Schwarber said it is not playing on his mind.
"I don't think the leadoff spot has changed what's been going on," he said. "I squared some balls up and wasn't able to get a hit or anything like that. It's part of the game. It's baseball. That's why it's a game of failure. You've got to learn from your mistakes and go with the good. It's a crazy game. It can put you in a great place, and it can put you in a bad place. So you try to stay right here, stay right in the middle."
He also said he has been able to hang in there mentally with the early struggles.
"Obviously it gets frustrating," he admitted. "You feel you put a good swing on a ball, and you're just not getting your result. It's funny. I've just got to keep going with the approach. I'm going to stay positive every day. I'm still going to be confident.
"Many hitters have gone through what I've been going through, and you've just got to keep going with it."
Other Cubs hitters aren't tearing it up either, and the team missed defending MVP Kris Bryant over the weekend as he battled a stomach bug.
A quick look:
• Anthony Rizzo is at .213/.351/.383 with 6 homers and 19 RBI. As with Schwarber, the difference between batting average and OBP is a good thing for Rizzo.
• Addison Russell has a line of .226/.295/.353.
• Willson Contreras is at .226/.293/.396.
• And Javier Baez has a line of .236/.274/.445.
Overall, the Cubs are 71-for-332 (. 214) with runners in scoring position. That ranked last in the National League entering Monday and ahead of Kansas City, Cleveland and Oakland in the major leagues.
Hitting with runners in scoring position is more of a random stat and not predictive, so it's best to keep an eye on things such as runs scored, OBP and walks. The Cubs ranked first in walks and OBP last year, and they were second in runs scored on the way to a world championship. Entering Monday, they ranked first in the NL in walks, eighth in runs and ninth in OBP.
Better approaches should lead to better plate appearances, and that should lead to better results for the Cubs.
Scouting report
Cubs vs. Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field
TV: Comcast SportsNet Tuesday and Thursday; WGN Wednesday
Radio: WSCR 670-AM
Pitching matchups: The Cubs' John Lackey (3-3) vs. Bronson Arroyo (3-2) Tuesday at 7:05 p.m.; Kyle Hendricks (2-2) vs. Scott Feldman (2-3) Wednesday at 7:05 p.m.; Jon Lester (1-2) vs. Lisalverto Bonilla (0-1) Thursday at 1:20 p.m.
At a glance: The Cubs took two of three from the Reds in Cincinnati from April 21-23. The Reds (19-18) entered Monday's off-day third in the NL Central, 2 ½ games behind the Cardinals. Joey Votto has a line of .291/.399/.582 with 10 homers and 33 RBI. Zack Cozart is at .336/.432/.564 with 2 homers and 14 RBI. Arroyo has an ERA of 5.94 while onetime Cub Feldman is at 3.59. The Cubs (18-19) have only 14 quality starts, ranking them 11th in the NL. Through 37 games last season, they had 27 quality starts. This begins a 10-game homestand for the Cubs. It also begins a stretch of 16 games in 16 days.
Next: Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field, Friday-Sunday
- Bruce Miles