Last year when the Chicago Cubs sent Kyle Schwarber to Triple-A Iowa, things didn’t look good.
He carried a .171/.295/.378 slash line when that decision came down the pipeline from the brass. A World Series legend on the North Side less than a year prior, reduced to a head-scratching struggling outfielder. Despite it all, the Cubs believed (and still do) the former first-rounder had barely scratched the ceiling of what he was capable of.
Despite a marked offense improvement in the second half, Schwarber finished the year with a disappointing .211/.315/.467 line. The main bright spot? His career-high 30 home runs.