Everyone seems to come to Spring Training with a “best shape of his life” story, but in the case of Kyle Schwarber, whose offseason progress has been tracked closely, the story is undoubtedly true. The guy came back from serious knee surgery last year, and then made it his mission this offseason to transform his body.
From there, we saw it in his physique at the Cubs Convention, and you can *really* see it in the video the Cubs just put out this morning of Schwarber doing some agility drills at Spring Training:
.@kschwarb12 👀 pic.twitter.com/Dv3kipzlNv
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) February 16, 2018
The slow motion is just a bonus bit of fun, but you can see the trim look under there, and the quick feet. What’s most enjoyable, though, is the comfort and stability he has in his knees. There are no questions there about lateral movement. Whatever lingering effects he may have been dealing with last year (if any), they’re probably long gone.
As for the fitness, the hope is that it will help improve his overall game, particularly in the field and on the bases. At the plate, it might not have an impact, though you can imagine realistic scenarios where improved athleticism could perhaps help him maintain consistent mechanics and meet a barrel more fastballs.