David Woods

david.woods@indystar.com

GENEVA, Ill. -- Kyle Schwarber is one of those just-wanna-play-baseball characters loath to be a disruption in the clubhouse or elsewhere. But the former Indiana University catcher has turned out to be troublesome, both for minor league pitching and the Chicago Cubs' organization.

It's easy to quantify what the left-handed batter has done in his pro debut. In 14 Class A games with the Boise Hawks and Kane County Cougars, he has hit .520 with eight home runs and a PlayStation-like 1.140 slugging percentage.

What's tougher is to specify how quickly he should be promoted or what position he should play. The assumption was Schwarber might not reach the majors before 2017 and would be dispatched to the outfield.

But just as it was a surprise for the lightly recruited ballplayer to become a college All-American and then the No. 4 pick of this month's draft, he has been better than projected — at bat and behind the plate.

"He's in a good situation," said Mark Johnson, his manager at Kane County. "He's going to make it a tough decision, which he wants and which is great."

Johnson said Schwarber, in a matter of days, applied instruction he received from Tim Cossins, the Cubs' minor league field coordinator. After catching most of the Hoosiers' 59 games, Schwarber will be used there once a week for the rest of the Midwest League season.

He caught in Wednesday's game against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, throwing out two runners attempting to steal second. In another difficult chance, he pounced on a tap in front of the plate and threw out the batter.

The game represented "a huge, huge jump forward," Johnson said. Schwarber also scattered spectators seated under Leinen Lounge umbrellas with a home run over the right field wall.

"If I can improve more and maybe get a chance to stay back there, that'd be great," Schwarber said. "I like to catch. But at the end of the day, it's what the organization wants me to do."

Johnson, 38, a backup catcher in the majors for eight seasons, said it takes "a special breed" to play the position. Schwarber has a "special combination," the manager said, in that he is a strong hitter who actually wants to play catcher.

"Kyle is a smart kid," Johnson said. "And he understands there's a huge void in catching in the whole baseball industry. There's not a lot of catchers out there, not a lot of good ones."

On draft night, Cubs scouting director Jason McLeod said Schwarber had the mentality and makeup to be a catcher and that the club would let that play out. McLeod said the Cubs considered Schwarber the best hitter, "hands down," in the draft.

Schwarber acknowledged his month has been hectic.

After watching the televised first round from his hometown of Middletown, Ohio, he traveled to Bloomington to pick up his belongings, dropped them off at his parents' home and then had his physical in Chicago. He signed for a reported $3.125 million, or $1.5 million less than what was slotted for the No. 4 pick. He was in a hurry, and early returns suggest he'll hurry through the hierarchy.

Nine days after draft night, in his June 13 debut for Boise, he was 3-for-4 with a three-run homer. He lasted five games in the short-season Northwest League because he was 12-for-20 (.600) with four homers and a 1.350 slugging percentage.

Then it was on to Kane County, whose Fifth Third Bank Ballpark is 43 miles west of Wrigley Field. Schwarber is attempting to get there, 400 feet at a time. His first home run for the Cougars went that far, sailing over the batter's eye in center field.

He hit two more in a 10-2 win Saturday in a five-RBI night.

He is the highest draft pick to play for Kane County since Adrian Gonzalez, who went No. 1 in 2000 when the Cougars were affiliated with the Florida Marlins. Next rungs on the Cubs' ladder are high-A Daytona, Double-A Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa.

It's a summer of dreaming for Cub fans, who were already monitoring the progress of Kris Bryant, the No. 2 overall pick of 2013, who has climbed to Triple-A in the span of a year. Schwarber, 21, and Bryant, 22, could potentially give the Cubs a young left/right slugging duo.

"Whether they want me to move up, or if they want me to move down, stay where I'm at, whatever," Schwarber said. "I'm just going to go out there, play baseball, have fun, just go from there, and I'll take the result.

"When you play the game you love for a job, it's awesome. I don't even look at it as a job."

Johnson said there was a time when young players were rushed to the majors, often resulting in a return to the minors. Two-and-a-half to three years would be a normal timeline, the Kane County manager said.

"Any time you rush a guy and he fails, it's tough," Johnson said. "Tough on his psyche. The mental part of the game is the No. 1 thing here. When you rush a guy and he's not ready, that's the last thing you want to do."

Schwarber earns rave reviews for his mentality at bat because he is selective. Evidence: He hit safely in 19 consecutive games, counting seven for IU and his first 12 in the minors.

He has modeled himself after Joey Votto of the Cincinnati Reds. Schwarber has the type of "upper-level" approach that characterizes hitters like Albert Pujols, Johnson said.

It could all be dizzying for someone who set aside late June for a return to the College World Series. If the Hoosiers had won their own regional, they would have been home against Vanderbilt in a super regional. Vanderbilt ultimately won the NCAA championship, beating Virginia 2-1 in a best-of-three series that ended Wednesday.

Schwarber said he didn't watch any CWS games, still feeling the disappointment of Indiana's walk-off loss to Stanford.

"I still think that team could have done a lot more than what we did," he said. "We ran into a team at the wrong time. It's baseball. It happens. Trust me, I miss those guys. It's still tough to swallow from the loss.

"It's going to take a while to say what we did was special."

It would take longer to persuade Schwarber, son of a nurse and retired police chief, that he is special. He said he is following the advice of his former Indiana coach, Tracy Smith: Stay level-headed.

Instead of protesting a called strike, Schwarber nods at the umpire in agreement. He stays with a host family in nearby Glen Ellyn and drives his 2000 GMC Envoy. He praises Boise and Kane County teammates. He is chased out of the weightlifting room because he was there 11/2hours after a doubleheader.

Whether money, media or majors, none of that has disrupted his next moment.

"Just be you," Schwarber said. "That's what I pride myself in, being me, and being how I was raised."

Call Star reporter David Woods at (317) 444-6195.