The MLB All-Star break is quickly approaching and one former Indiana baseball star is coming off of a hot month in June.
It was the Chicago Cubs first losing month in two years and ‘frustrated’ is how most players in the clubhouse would describe it, with the heart and sole of the team Jon Lester saying, “We just haven’t played well.” Despite the recent struggles, former Indiana slugger Kyle Schwarber has been playing his best baseball of the season as we head into the All-Star break.
The reason for his recent success has been his position in the batting order, at the leadoff spot.
Schwarber was put into the leadoff spot at the end of May and since then it has led to 12 out of his 18 home runs and since June hit, a .270 batting average. Before the shuffle in the lineup, Schwarber was hitting just .224 on the season. Overall in June, the former Hoosier had 26 hits in 28 games played.
An even better measure of his success at the plate has been his on base plus slugging percentage (OPS) which is one of the better rates to look at for a hitter. It has been raised .70 points up to .795 since his arrival at the top of the lineup.
For Schwarber, who has been a relatively inconsistent hitter in his young career, this recent stint of success is something that the Cubs wanted and needed out of him.
Though we are just halfway through the 2018-19 season, Schwarber is on pace to have a career season in many statistical categories such as homers, RBI’s, and hits, and is on pace to have his best batting average and slugging percentage since his rookie season.
The Cubs have six more games until the All-Star break and look to go into the weekend with a nice winning streak.