Kyle Schwarber

Kyle Schwarber

Schwarber at the 2015 All-Star Futures Game
Chicago Cubs – No. 12
Left fielder / Catcher
Born: (1993-03-05) March 5, 1993
Middletown, Ohio
Bats: Left Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 16, 2015, for the Chicago Cubs
MLB statistics
(through 2015 season)
Batting average .246
Home runs 16
Runs batted in 43
Slugging percentage .487
Teams

Kyle Joseph Schwarber (born March 5, 1993) is an American professional baseball left fielder and catcher for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the Indiana Hoosiers. He was drafted by the Cubs in the first round of the 2014 MLB draft, and made his MLB debut during the 2015 season.

Amateur career

Schwarber attended Middletown High School in Middletown, Ohio. During his four years, he hit .408 with 18 home runs and 103 runs batted in (RBIs).[1]

As a freshman at Indiana University, Schwarber was named a freshman All-American by Louisville Slugger and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper after hitting .300/.390/.513 with eight home runs and 47 runs batted in. As a sophomore in 2013, he hit .366/.456/.647 with 18 home runs and 54 RBI in 61 games.[2][3] He was named a first-team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA)[4][5] After the season, Schwarber played for the United States collegiate national team during the summer.[6][7] As a junior, he batted .348/.456/.643 with 13 home runs. He was a finalist for the Johnny Bench Award.[8]

Professional career

Schwarber playing catcher for the Iowa Cubs, triple-A affiliates of the Chicago Cubs, in 2015

Minor leagues

Schwarber was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the first round, fourth overall, in the 2014 Major League Baseball draft.[9] He signed on June 11.[10] He made his professional debut with the Boise Hawks three days later, going 3-4 with a home run and three RBIs.[11] The Cubs then promoted him to the Kane County Cougars of the Class A Midwest League and the Daytona Cubs of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League before the end of the season. Schwarber began the 2015 season with the Double-A Tennessee Smokies of the Southern League. In July 2015, he played in the All-Star Futures Game, where he was named the MVP of the game after hitting a go-ahead two-run triple for Team USA.[12]

Major leagues

The Cubs promoted Schwarber to the major leagues on June 16, 2015, to serve as a designated hitter for six games during interleague play.[13] Schwarber made his major league debut as a position player that night, replacing ejected starting catcher Miguel Montero in the eighth inning against the Cleveland Indians.[14] The following night, as a designated hitter, he got four hits in five at bats with two RBIs and six total bases. The Cubs sent Schwarber to the Triple-A Iowa Cubs of the Pacific Coast League after the six games.[15] On July 16, 2015, Schwarber was recalled from Triple A Iowa, to rejoin the Cubs due to an injury to catcher Montero.[16] On July 21, in a 5–4 extra-inning victory over the Cincinnati Reds, Schwarber hit a game-tying 2-run homer in the ninth inning and a solo go-ahead home run in the top of the 13th to give the Cubs the lead. Schwarber's three multihomer games are the most for a Cub rookie in his first 51 games played since 1914.[17] Over the course of the season he split time between catcher and outfield positions. He finished the 2015 regular season having played 69 games, recording a .246 batting average with 16 home runs, 52 runs scored, and 43 RBIs.[18] In the National League Wild Card Game, Schwarber drove in three runs and hit a long two-run home run to help the Cubs defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4–0, and advance to the Division Series against the St. Louis Cardinals.[19] In the NLDS, Schwarber helped the Cubs to a 3-1 series victory with 2 home runs, including a mammoth game 4 shot that landed on top of the new Wrigley Field scoreboard in right field.[20] The ball was removed during the 2015-16 off season to prevent theft but was encased in Plexiglas and returned "to where it landed".[21] In his eighth career postseason game, a 5-2 loss to the New York Mets in game 3 of the NLCS, Schwarber set not only a Cubs record with his fifth career postseason home run but also the most homers in a single postseason by a player age 22 or younger, passing Miguel Cabrera.[22]

Schwarber was involved in an outfield collision with teammate Dexter Fowler on April 7, 2016, and was removed from the game with a left leg injury. After undergoing x-rays and an MRI, it was announced on April 8 that Schwarber had torn the anterior cruciate ligament and lateral collateral ligament in his left knee, and would miss the rest of the 2016 season.[23]

Personal life

Kyle is the son of Greg, a retired police chief, and Donna Schwarber.[24] He has three sisters.[24] Kyle's uncle Thomas Schwarber played college baseball as a pitcher at Ohio State and played professionally in the Detroit Tigers minor league system for three seasons from 1991 to 1993.[25][26]

References

  1. ↑ "All-Area Baseball Position Player of the Year: Kyle Schwarber". journal-news.com. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Indiana University-Hoosiers". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Ex-Middie Schwarber, IU headed to Omaha". journal-news.com. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Schwarber & DeMuth Snatch More All-American Recognition". iuhoosiers.com. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  5. ↑ "NCBWA > News > 2013 NCBWA All-America Team". sportswriters.net. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Schwarber to Join Team USA This Summer". iuhoosiers.com. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  7. ↑ INDIANA BASEBALL'S KYLE SCHWARBER WAS EASY CATCH FOR COACH SMITH
  8. ↑ "Schwarber Named Finalist for Johnny Bench Award". iuhoosiers.com. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Catcher Schwarber is Cubs' first pick in 2014". Chicago Cubs. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Cubs sign top Draft pick Schwarber to deal". Chicago Cubs. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Cubs' top pick Schwarber homers in pro debut". mlb.com. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  12. ↑ Steve Gardner (July 12, 2015). "Kyle Schwarber headlines Team USA's win in Futures Game". USA TODAY. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Touted prospect Kyle Schwarber to join Chicago Cubs for six-game stint". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  14. ↑ Randhawa, Manny. "Kyle Schwarber off to a hot start". indystar.com. IndyStar. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  15. ↑ Andracki, Tony. "Schwarber ready to work in minors". csnchicago.com. CSN Chicago. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  16. ↑ Mooney, Patrick. "Cubs promoting Schwarber in response to Montero injury". csnchicago.com. Comcast Sportsnet. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  17. ↑ Rogers, Jessie. "Cubs rookies enter record books, help sweep Phillies". espn.go.com. ESPN. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  18. ↑ Yahoo sports
  19. ↑ CBS Sports
  20. ↑
  21. ↑ Sullivan, Paul. "Kyle Schwarber's home run ball back on top of Wrigley video board". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  22. ↑ CBS Sports
  23. ↑ Todd, Jeff (April 8, 2016). "Kyle Schwarber Out For Year With Torn Knee Ligaments". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
  24. 1 2 McCrabb, Rick (June 17, 2015). "Former Middie Kyle Schwarber continues ‘surreal’ ride". journal-news.com. Journal-News. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  25. ↑ "Thomas Schwarber". Baseball Reference. July 21, 2015.
  26. ↑ Znidar, Mark (June 13, 2013). "Baseball: Indiana puts Big Ten in spotlight". Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved July 21, 2015.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, April 22, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.