Remember back in 2016 when the Cubs unfortunately won the World Series for the first time in 108 years? Kyle Schwarber was able to complete rehab for his torn ACL he suffered in the first week of the season and Joe Buck couldn’t get enough of him.

I’ll give him credit, Schwarber had a decent series considering he didn’t play all year, but that was the best that he will ever be. His glory days are over in Chicago.

Schwarber Looks So Thin

Growing up in the northern suburbs of Chicago, all I hear everyday is “Kyle Schwarber looks so thin now” or “he’s going to hit bombs this year cuz he lost all that weight”. He lost almost 20lbs this offseason, which I will once again give him credit for.

He was a 235lb outfielder. He was one of the worst defensively. His famous errors in critical situations prove how unstable he is in the outfield for the Cubs. But even losing weight won’t clean up his outfield skills that much.

After all, last year he made an embarrassing error in the NLDS vs the Nationals when he dropped the ball in left field, and then kicked it away from him. It’s plays like this that just require a little bit of skill, something that Kyle Schwarber does not have in the outfield.

Strikeout Rate Very High

Fans also shouldn’t be so concerned about hitting home runs. He had 30 last year, but the main problem was getting his and getting on base. His average was at a horrific .211 and on baseball percentage wasn’t that much better at .315.

His strikeout rate has also increased a lot since his rookie year of 2015 (150 compared to 77). He played 129 games last year, which means he averaged just over 1 strikeout per game.

That is the stat that is going to kill Kyle Schwarber and the Cubs this year. If he is placed in the 4th or 5th spot in the lineup, he is going to get a lot of at bats with runners on base, and him striking out does them no good.

Huge Year — We Think Not

Everyone is saying that Schwarber is set for a huge year, but let’s be real, everyone says that every Cub player is going to have a breakout year. It seems like every other article is about Heyward finally finding his swing and hitting 20+ home runs this year, or Ian Happ being the greatest lead off hitter in the league.

It’s not going to happen, at least not for Schwarber. His defensive skills are atrocious and his hitting is very much overrated. I’m not saying he will not have a decent year, but don’t expect him to be the Allstar that every Cubs fan believes that he is.