Like His Home Runs, How Far Will Kyle Schwarber Go?

After an impressive stint in the majors last year, Kyle Schwarber enters the 2016 MLB season as one of the more exciting young sluggers in the league.  At 22 years old, he played 69 games, smashing 16 HR and recording 43 RBI. He’s not a great hitter, however, as he finished with a .246 BA. That number doesn’t tell the whole story, as he went from batting .302 in July, all the way down to .206 in September. Now, as he prepares for his first full season, he figures to slot into the starting left field position. So what exactly can you expect? Schwarber’s power was showcased in front of the world, when he absolutely crushed a home run out of PNC Park in the NL Wild Card Game before crushing another one out of Wrigley Field in the NLDS. His 16 regular season home runs were certainly no fluke, as a matter of fact, expect his home run totals to creep towards the 30s in his first full season. Although he spent most of his debut season hitting second, the arrival of Jason Heyward will probably push him down to fifth. At that position, he may face a number of walks as pitchers will seek to escape his wrath. So you can expect a couple of things from Schwarber this year. First, expect a more mature hitter with a better eye for what's coming towards him at the plate. Expect a significant spike in home runs, an increase in average, but nothing out of this world, and a definite increase in walks. All this spells a probable third-to-fifth round selection of Schwarber, whose experience at catcher will be enough to designate him as a catcher/outfielder.