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Another Young Cub to Watch
Something commonly known in fantasy baseball circles is that catchers are not particularly exciting. It's obviously due to their lack of at bats and the fact that their defensive position wears on their offensive ability over the course of a season. However, to entirely write off the importance of catchers for fantasy purposes is not a winning strategy. Finding a quality catcher at the right price can make all the difference.
Can Kyle Schwarber be that sort of impact talent? It's way too early to tell for fourth overall pick in last June's draft. That tends to be the case when you've barely had over 350 plate appearances at the professional level.
Yet I find myself writing about him because of what he did last year in his first year of play. Across three levels of A ball he hit .330/.419/.611 with 19 HR, 58 R, 59 RBI, and 5 SB in 285 at-bats. Not bad for the then 21 year old.
He's not quite off to the same start this year hitting only .250 in 24 at-bats at the Double-A level. On the other hand, he has an OBP of .500 and his walk rate has increased by nearly 20 points from High-A ball. It's a small sample size, but it demonstrates that Shwarber is not currently being overwhelmed by the new level of competition.
Additionally, Schwaber is rated a 70 out of 80 on the power scale by most scouts. That bodes very well for his offensive output. Ask Evan Gattis how much the fantasy community cares about your ability to hit homers as a catcher.
Now for some bad news. This past off-season the Cubs traded for Miguel Montero, who is signed through the 2017 season. Montero has been declining the past few seasons, but as long as he is around there will be no reason to make Schwaber their full time catcher just yet.
Plus, there are many in the organization that don't believe Schwarber has what it takes defensively to be a full time catcher. He's working to improve his catching in the minors, but if he can't, there is a distinct possibility he'll be moved to the outfield. His power would still make him an intriguing option as an outfielder, but his value is seriously damaged if he doesn't earn catching eligibility.
The best possible outcome for Schwarber is becoming a Gattis like player. Both have been considered to be moved to the outfield because of their defense, and both have great hit tools. It's early yet, but the signs point to Schwarber being the sort of talent that can hit 20-25 homers a year while hitting at least .250. It's simply a question of whether he will become one of the top ten fantasy catchers, or yet another outfielder in a loaded pool.
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