The Kyle Schwarber Lineup Problem Continues And It Still Doesn’t Make Any Sense
I get it, it makes no sense to have Mark Zagunis on the roster if he’s not used against left-handed pitching because those are the pitchers he excels against. However, for whatever reason Joe Maddon continues to favor one Cubs outfielder over the other despite what the actual splits say.
The Cubs begin a three-game series against the Braves Monday night, with lefty Sean Newcomb making the start for Atlanta. So, of course because there’s a left-hander on the mound, Kyle Schwarber is back on the bench instead of in the lineup after hitting a pair of bombs in Texas during the weekend.
And right away, if you agree with Maddon’s decision to keep platooning Schwarber, you’ll probably immediately bring up that Schwarber is awful against left-handed pitchers.
But guess what, Schwarber wasn’t even that bad against lefties in 2018. Yes, the batting average was low at .224 and he only slugged .303 in 76 at-bats vs. lefties last year, but Schwarber had a respectable .352 OBP, walking 14 times against them.
Oh and just like Mike Minor on Opening Day, it’s not as if Newcomb dominates left-handed hitters. This was a perfect chance for Maddon to get Schwarber in the lineup against a lefty and see if he has indeed improved.
In his career, Newcomb has actually allowed a higher OPS vs. left-handed hitters than right-handed hitters, .731 vs. .714.
Plus, little by little, Schwarber has been improving against LHP in each season of his MLB career.
Schwarber OPS vs. LHP
2015: .481
2017: .647
2018: .655
Obviously I skipped 2016, when Schwarber missed pretty much all of the season.
So, after looking great at the plate against the Rangers, including a walk and a bloop double against lefties, the Cubs get another left-hander on the mound who isn’t particularly good against left-handed hitters, but Maddon continues to bench Schwarber.
And it becomes more frustrating when at the same time Albert Almora Jr. keeps getting starts against right-handed pitchers. I mean, why does Almora deserve more chances against RHP than Schwarber against LHP when Schwarber has been the one who’s shown the ability to get on base more often against the pitchers he struggles more against?
In 2018, Kyle Schwarber had a .352 OBP vs. LHP
In 2018, Albert Almora Jr. had a .315 OBP vs. RHP
— Aldo Soto (@AldoSoto21) April 1, 2019
It just doesn’t make any sense that Almora will keep getting chances against RHP and Schwarber won’t against LHP despite being better. And I get it, Almora brings more to the table because of his defense, but still the two aren’t being treated equally and it’s troubling, considering Schwarber could add more value on offense than Almora hitting .280, but only hitting singles and sliding head-first into first base.
Who knows, maybe it’ll change eventually and last year we saw Maddon find more suitable matchups against RHP for Almora. Maybe that time will come with Schwarber, but tonight seemed like a pretty good spot to do it.
Here is tonight's #Cubs starting lineup in Atlanta. #EverybodyIn
Stream on @NBCSChicago: https://t.co/rGCuW1XI7C pic.twitter.com/mgha5Vf2tY
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 1, 2019
And hey, I hope Zagunis takes advantage of his playing time too.