Joe Maddon took some criticisms back in 2017 when he came out and said that Kyle Schwarber would bat leadoff. This was something new to Chicago Cubs fans because the previous two years we had the prototypical leadoff guy in Dexter Fowler. Fowler was a guy that would see a lot of pitches to lead off a game, walk a lot, and could seal some bases. Schwarber is a guy that is going to walk and slug a bunch but also going to strike out a decent amount.
In 2017 Schwarber struggled batting leadoff.