2025 Fantasy Baseball: Kyle Schwarber Profile, Preview, Predictions
In this story:
For a drafter looking for help in three Roto categories, Kyle Schwarber has a high floor in runs, home runs, and RBIs. Unfortunately, he whiffs like a champ, inviting massive batting average drag in most seasons.
Every Kyle Schwarber Home Run from the 2024 season pic.twitter.com/bJEjn70IfK
— Phillies Tailgate (@PhilsTailgate) January 27, 2025
DH – Kyle Schwaber, PHI (ADP – 79.6)
Batting average influence is a key part of a fantasy drafter’s value of a player. Schwarber has been productive in runs, home runs, and RBIs over his three seasons with the Phillies. Over this span, he struck out 612 times (29.4% - 28.5% in 2024). His variance starts with his contact batting average (.390 in 2021, .334 in 2022, .311 in 2023, and .378 last year). He finished 2024 with an elite RBI rate (21) for the first time in his career.
Schwarber drilled left-handed pitching (.300/37/12/38 over 210 at-bats), which was a massive area of weakness in batting average (.188/37/15/32 over 207 at-bats) in 2023. His improvement came from 20 fewer strikeouts last season over similar at-bats. He had the most production in September (.293 with 22 runs, 10 home runs, and 22 RBIs over 99 at-bats).
His exit velocity (93.6 mph) was a career-best, helped by a more balanced swing path (fly-ball rate – 40.1 – 49.5 in 2023 and 51.1 in 2022). Schwarber has the fifth-best hard-hit rate (55.5). He continues to have an elite walk rate (15.3).
Fantasy Outlook: Schwarber is a three-outcome player – 33% of his hits were home runs over the past three years, and 44.7% resulted in a walk or strikeout. He’ll get on base and hit home runs, but his batting average falls on his desire for more loft or more balls in play. Based on his recent resume, a sub-.225 batting average should be expected with another 100/35/90 season.
RANKINGS
Top 5 Catchers | Catchers 6-10 | Catchers 11-15
Top 5 First Basemen | First Basemen 6-10 | First Basemen 11-15
Top 5 Second Basemen | Second Basemen 6-10 | Second Basemen 11-15
Top 5 Shortstops | Shortstops 6-10 | Shortstops 11-15
Top 5 Third Basemen | Third Basemen 6-10 | Third Basemen 11-15
With 20+ years of experience in the high-stakes fantasy market, I aim to research and compete at the highest level in baseball and football each season. I've contributed as a writer/analyst for Sports Draft Daily, ScoutPro, Scout Fantasy, Fulltime Fantasy, FFToolbox, and Sports Illustrated Fantasy. I'm honored to be in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship Hall of Fame. My drafting philosophy is risk-averse yet open to betting on potential game-changers. I approach player selection with a neutral perspective, acknowledging that fantasy sports are inherently unpredictable due to injuries, performance dips, and managerial decisions. My work focuses on these main areas: - Season-long fantasy baseball and football - BestBall Baseball and Football Events - Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS): DraftKings, FanDuel, and Underdog - Long Shot Player Prop Parlays for NFL I participate in various leagues and contests, including NFBC, NFFC, RTSports, FFPC, DraftKings, Underdog Fantasy, FanDuel, and FFWC, with the goal of leveraging my extensive experience and research for success in each game format. A fantasy follower can expect in-depth profiles of NFL and MLB players, along with season-long and weekly projections for each fantasy football season. In addition, I have many strategy articles to help develop fantasy players' learning curves.
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