Cubs: How long do you hold onto Kyle Schwarber?

In a shocking, but necessary, move, the Cubs sent down star player Kyle Schwarber. With no return date in sight, how long should you keep him rostered?

The Chicago Cubs are not the special team they were last year. The team is 1.5 games back of first place in the National League Central. While the pitching staff struggles, there are a few stars on the offense keeping the team in games. Unfortunately, one of those stars is Kyle Schwarber.

After being the hero to the Cubs’ 2016 World Series win, Schwarber is hitting a measly .171 with 12 home runs and 28 RBI in 222 at-bats. The Cubs can’t continue with Schwarber in the lineup hitting like this, so the best option was to send him down to Triple-A. The reports state that this won’t be a long demotion, so should you still keep Schwarber rostered?

If this was any other catcher, maybe except for Buster Posey, the answer would be no. Schwarber had a 77.4 ADP (eighth round) in ESPN leagues. He missed all of the 2016 regular season. This was just based on what he did in the playoffs and what he could possibly do in the future.

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Unfortunately, those owners drafted a left fielder currently ranked 76th in the position. With the depth on the waiver wire, he should have been replaced weeks ago. Yet, Schwarber is still owned in 72.8 percent of ESPN leagues.

Granted, the time in Triple-A could give him time to clear his head, get things right and return better than ever. But, he could also come back up and continue to hit .171.

Looking at his peripherals and comparing them to his 2015 season, they are roughly the same. Schwarber made 273 plate appearances then and 222 this year. However, he had a .246 average with 16 home runs, 43 RBI and 52 runs scored.

There are also similarities in his batted ball rates. He had a 17.3 line drive, 40.4 ground ball and 42.3 fly ball rate in 2015. This year, Schwarber has a 12.3, 40.4 and 47.3 rate, respectively. The difference is how hard he’s hitting the ball.

Schwarber had just a 15.4 soft hit rate two years ago but has a 22.4 rate this season. His hard-hit rate also went down seven percent from 39.7 to 32.0 percent. He is more patient at the plate with his 10.8 swinging strike percentage, but when he makes contact, it’s soft.

Schwarber only qualifies at outfield in 99 percent of leagues. There are a select few that have him as a catcher, but those aren’t real leagues. If you need Schwarber’s power with an improved batting average, Trey Mancini is available in 50 percent of leagues. Brandon Drury is also showing power and ability to get on base.

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As for Schwarber’s roster status. This is hard. If you drop him, you risk someone else picking him up and benefiting from a resurgence in the second half. If you keep him, he has no trade value right now and you’re stuck with him until he starts hitting.

Because this is a short demotion, I think you need to keep Schwarber and see how he hits when he returns. You can’t spend a lot of time waiting because your competition are adding better players.

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