Cubs catching prospect Kyle Schwarber: quick impressions

This weekend I took an unscheduled trip to see my mother in Des Moines. I attended the Iowa Cubs/New Orleans Zephyrs game Saturday night, but this was primarily for relaxation purposes, not a formal scouting mission. In other words, I was there to have fun and enjoy myself, not to work. I didn't take notes or do anything especially analytical.

Except for Chicago Cubs catching prospect Kyle Schwarber. I wanted to get a look at him. Here are some quick impressions.

The bat looked terrific, everything as advertised. He went 3-for-4 with a double and a home run. Bat speed looked excellent. Swing mechanics looked simple, repeatable, and powerful, with just enough uppercut to launch the ball over any fence but not enough to get himself in serious trouble with contact. I've seen reports about excess movement with a timing mechanism but it didn't look like an issue in this game. He looked utterly confident at the plate and I have no doubts at all about the bat. He will hit for both power and average.

The main issue with Schwarber is defense. It is hard to tell much from just one game and he wasn't really challenged defensively in this contest. Nobody ran on him so I didn't get a game read on his arm, and he didn't make any obvious receiving mistakes. I thought his mobility looked adequate enough given his size. He did make one very alert play on a sweep tag from an outfield throw, and in general he looked just as confident behind the plate as he did while hitting.

Overall, I love the bat but didn't get enough information to make a judgment on the glove.