We need to talk about how different Kyle Schwarber looks

The Chicago Cubs might have themselves a new player with the same name in Kyle Schwarber, who appears to have trimmed down for this season.

When the Chicago Cubs finally ended their more than century-long World Series drought in 2016, one of the underlying stories was how Kyle Schwarber returned to play in the series after tearing multiple ligaments in his left knee, which forced him to miss the entire regular season.

The organization and fans alike were anxious to get Schwarber back in 2017 for a full season. Expectations were high for the young slugger. But the numbers just didn’t meet those expectations.

Schwarber, though, appears determined to reach a higher level of play. And it looks like he’s started that effort off by getting in much better shape for this season. Check out this side-by-side comparison of Schwarber at Spring Training in 2017 and Schwarber in 2018 from Brett Taylor of Bleacher Nation:

A pretty incredible transformation, to say the least. Schwarber looks much slimmer than he was at this point last year.

It has been suggested numerous times that he belongs in the American League as a DH because of his physique and defensive abilities. But he may just be able to silence his doubters now. With his new physical shape, he could be noticeably faster than in previous years, giving him more range in the outfield.

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Schwarber could be a breakout candidate for the Cubs this year. Though his overall numbers in 2017 don’t jump off the page, the 24-year-old slashed .253/.335/.559 (.894 OPS) with 17 home runs in the second half of the season. If he can build off that, who knows what he could accomplish this year.