Cubs Minor League Daily: Kyle Schwarber’s Progress and Return

Kyle Schwarber has now played four games in Iowa, and has a four game hitting streak. His line reads .333/.375/.333 thanks to five singles and one walk. On the downside, he has no extra base hits (although a couple of his singles have been off-the-wall types) and eight strikeouts.

The coaches on the ground are going to have a better idea of his progress than we are based on the game stats, but so far there is nothing in the games stats that indicates he has returned to form.

And that makes this tweet really interesting:

Tommy Birch covers the I-Cubs for the Des Moines Register, and is pretty much the authority on all things Iowa Cubs related. If he is hinting that Schwarber won’t hit the road with Iowa, it’s possible he’s seeing or hearing something somewhere.

The road trip he’s mentioning would not start until July 4th (in Oklahoma City). A lot can happen between now and Tuesday; by Tuesday we may be wondering what is taking the Cubs so long. On the other hand, the road trip is just three games. Then the Cubs come back to Iowa for three, and then we’re at the All Star break.

I could see some sense in bringing Schwarber back for a week, then giving him a few days off at the All Star break, and then seeing if he can hit the ground slugging in the second half. Schwarber sounds satisfied with his progress so far, so we’ll see. Maybe we’ll see Schwarber back in the majors by early next week after all.

Triple A: Iowa Cubs
Iowa 5, New Orleans 2
Iowa is 3-1 since Schwarber joined the team.

  • Casey Kelly: 6.1 IP, 2 R, 8 H, 4 K
  • Jack Leathersich: 1.2 IP, 3 K
  • Matt Carasiti: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 K
  • Jemile Weeks: 2 for 4, 2B
  • Kyle Schwarber: 1 for 3, BB
  • Chris Dominguez: 3 for 4, HR
  • Bijan Rademacher: 2 for 4, 2B
  • Stephen Bruno: 2 for 4, SB
  • Double A: Tennessee Smokies
    Tennessee 9, Jackson 4
    The Smokies broke up a tie game with five in the eighth.

  • Preston Morrison: 6 IP, 4 R, 7 H, 5 K
  • Brad Markey: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 K
  • Ben Zobrist: 2 for 3, BB
  • David Bote: 1 for 3, 2 BB
  • Jason Vosler: 1 for 3, HR, BB. Vosler’s 14th homer was a grand slam.
  • Yasiel Balaguert: 1 for 4, HR, BB
  • Carlos Penalver: 3 for 4
  • High A: Myrtle Beach Pelicans
    Potomac 5, Myrtle Beach 1
    The bullpen was solid in this one.

  • Ryan Kellogg: 5 IP, 5 R (3 ER), 10 H, 4 K
  • Kyle Miller: 1.2 IP, 2 BB
  • Dakota Mekkes: 1.1 IP, 1 BB, 1 K
  • Tommy Thorpe: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 K
  • Bryant Flete: 2 for 4
  • Jesse Hodges: 1 for 4, 2B
  • Eloy Jimenez: 1 for 3, 2B, BB
  • Eddy Martinez: 2 for 4
  • Low A: South Bend Cubs
    Fort Wayne 7, South Bend 4
    South Bend’s second half slump continues.

  • Bryan Hudson: 4.2 IP, 5 R, 6 H, 4 BB, 5 K
  • Jose Paulino: 3 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K
  • Roberto Caro: 1 for 3, 3B, BB
  • Vimael Machin: 3 fofr 4, HR
  • Adonis Paula: 2 for 4, 2B
  • Short Season A: Eugene Emeralds
    Vancouver 2, Eugene 1 in twelve innings.
    Emeralds’ pitching struck out fifteen.

  • Bailey Clark: 4.1 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 4 K
  • Andry Rondon: 2.2 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 4 K
  • Junior Marte: 2 IP, 1 H, 4 K
  • Luis Aquino 2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K
  • Miguel Amaya: 1 for 5, 2B
  • Tyler Payne: 1 for 5, 2B
  • Zach Davis: 0 for 1, 4 BB, 2 SB
  • Rookie: AZL Cubs
    AZL Dodgers 13, AZL Cubs 2
    Cubs’ pitching allowed ten walks as well as thirteen hits.

  • Carson Sands: 3 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 3 BB, 2 K
  • Jose Rosario: 2 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 4 K
  • Stephen Ridings: 2 IP, 2 BB, 3 K
  • Carlos Diaz: 1 for 4, 2B
  • Delvin Zinn: 2 for 4, 2B
  • Reubuen Reyes: 1 for 4, 2B, SB
  • Other Notes

  • Not to be missed in Schwarber’s comments on his progress with Iowa is exactly what he is working on. The Cubs want him to stop trying to pull everything and concentrate on using the middle of the field. That is music to my ears.
  • Zobrist played second base and hit second for the Smokies yesterday. I’m not sure how long he’ll be with Tennessee, but I doubt it will be for more than a few games.
  • In case you missed it from yesterday, we are lucky enough to be treated to an encore performance of Eloy Jimenez in the Futures Game. If you missed his highlight reel performance from a year ago, then start clearing your schedule for the 2017 edition now.
  • written by

    Luke Blaize is the Minor League Editor at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @ltblaize.

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