CHICAGO -- At this time of year, getting a player back from an extended injury -- like the Chicago Cubs just did with pitcher Kyle Hendricks -- can often be viewed in nearly the same way as trading for a new one. The feeling is the team has played long enough without said player, so his return provides the same boost a trade would.

Can that thinking also apply to a struggling player? If so, then the Cubs recently added a big-time slugger, and his name is Kyle Schwarber. He was acquired -- meaning brought up from the minors -- July 6, and he looks like a new man despite an overall batting average of .191.

“The work is paying off,” Schwarber said after a two-homer, three-hit night Thursday. “I can’t be result-based. I want to be processed-based still. Today was a good day.”

It was a great day, in fact, as Schwarber took two different White Sox pitchers out of the park and, in between, hit his second career triple in the Cubs' 6-3 victory. One home run went to left-center, while the other blast landed 423 feet from home plate in right field.

“I just want to worry about putting barrel on the ball and having good contact,” Schwarber continued. “Hitting the ball where it’s being pitched.”

Sounds simple enough, but we know hitting a baseball was anything but simple during the first half for Schwarber. The trip to the minors seems to have cured his ills, as he’s hitting .280 with a 1.048 OPS since returning. Balls are flying all over the field, with his "well-hit" average 80 points higher than before his demotion, according to ESPN Stats & Information. His manager broke down Schwarber’s success:

Kyle Schwarber blasted two home runs and added a triple for good measure Thursday as the Cubs beat the White Sox to improve to 11-2 since the break. Dennis Wierzbicki/USA TODAY Sports

“Little quicker to the ball, staying in left-center a lot,” Joe Maddon said. “Shorter approach to the ball. More hands, less body. It’s all minute kind of adjustments when you’re talking about a very good major league player.”

Considering how hot catcher Willson Contreras has been this month in the cleanup spot, and with Schwarber heating up right behind him, it’s no wonder the Cubs have vaulted into first place in the National League Central as the calendar inches toward August. The whole team is feeling it, and feeling great for one of its most popular players.

“You see his stats and you can glance at those and know that’s not him,” Thursday’s winning pitcher, Jon Lester, said. “And for him to keep plodding along and believing in the system, he can get back to him being himself. The at-bats are getting better.”

And while Schwarber has made the mechanical adjustments, it’s the mental part of the game he’s overcome as well. That can be attributed to his teammates, according to the slugger. The 24-year-old is not talking in clichés when he says the Cubs' culture helped him, particularly when he was down on himself.

“That’s the good thing about this team,” Schwarber said. “No one is getting treated differently because you’re hitting .400 or .180, or whatever it is. Everyone is treated the same. That’s why we’re so together out there, when we’re playing the game, and it’s a key factor to have in your clubhouse.”

Riding high into a three-game series this weekend in Milwaukee, the Cubs can know they’ve literally added a player this month in Friday starter Jose Quintana, and metaphorically added a hitter in the form of Schwarber. That might be enough in itself as the trade deadline approaches. The Cubs are 11-2 since the All-Star break, and Schwarber is looking like that guy who helped them to a World Series championship.

“I told him if he had a couple more pushups in there he would have had three homers tonight,” Lester said, smiling.