Postseason folk hero Kyle Schwarber joins Cubs All-Decade Team

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With the 2010s coming to a close, NBC Sports Chicago is unveiling its Cubs All-Decade Team, highlighting the players who made the biggest impacts on the organization from 2010-19.

The legend of Cubs left fielder Kyle Schwarber was born in October.

Schwarber broke into the big leagues in June 2015, a little over a year after the Cubs drafted him No. 4 overall. Following an impressive 16-home run regular season (69 games), Schwarber burst onto the scene in the postseason — the Cubs’ first appearance in seven years.

In nine games, Schwarber slashed .333/.419/.889 with a ridiculous 248 wRC+. He smacked five long balls — including the famous blast that landed atop the right field scoreboard at Wrigley Field (in an NLDS-clinching win over the Cardinals, nonetheless).

Schwarber’s career was off to a hot start, and for a Cubs team entering 2016 with championship aspirations, the burly catcher-turned-outfielder was expected to play a big role.

Rather than being a pivotal force in the heart of the Cubs lineup, Schwarber’s 2016 campaign was seemingly cut short after two games. He suffered a torn ACL and LCL in his left knee on April 7, 2016, colliding with then-Cubs center fielder Dexter Fowler as both chased after a fly ball hit between one another.

The gruesome injury was supposed to end Schwarber’s first full big-league season. Instead, he rehabbed vigorously, and the Cubs sent him to the Arizona Fall League in October to face in-game pitching for the first time in six months. The Cubs deemed him ready to return soon after, adding him to the World Series roster ahead of their matchup against the Cleveland Indians.

Schwarber appeared in five Fall Classic games — four as the designated hitter, one as a pinch-hitter. He slashed .412/.500/.471 in 17 at-bats, recording a double and two RBIs. His last hit — a single in the 10th inning of Game 7 — started the Cubs’ winning rally. Albert Almora Jr. pinch ran for Schwarber and came around to score, putting the Cubs ahead 7-6. They won the game 8-7 to secure their first title in 108 years.

2017 was less kind to Schwarber, who struggled out of the gate (.178/.300/.394 first half slash line) and was eventually sent to Triple-A. He bounced back in the second half (.253/.335/.559) and finished the season with 30 home runs.

Schwarber was better in 2018 (.238/.356/.467 slash line, 26 home runs) and even more so last season. After an up-and-down first half, he was one of the Cubs’ best hitters after the All-Star break. In 70 games, he sported a .280/.366/.631 slash line, 151 wRC+ and hit 20 of his career-high 38 home runs. His previously maligned defense in left field (-9 Defensive Runs Saved in 2017) has grown considerably, too (-1 DRS in 2019).

Schwarber orchestrated postseason heroics at the start of his career and came into his own last season after experiencing adversity post-2016. He joins Fowler and Alfonso Soriano in the outfield on our Cubs All-Decade Team.

Also considered: David DeJesus, Albert Almora Jr., Jorge Soler, Jason Heyward, Kosuke Fukudome, Nicholas Castellanos

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