First of all, my apologies for being a day late with the column. I have been out of town and, combined with mourning the Warriors loss, I'm day behind. I'll be back on regular schedule next week.

The Week That Was

For many years, I thought Kyle Schwarber was over-drafted based on hype and team context rather than actual production, but Schwarber is on a serious heater right now, as he is tied for the lead in all of baseball with 11 homers over the last month. Overall, he has 15 homers, but the batting average, long an issue for Schwarber, is still only at .238. He strikeout rate is still pretty elevated at 27.4 percent, but one note of positivity in that regard is that he has lowered his swinging strike rate to under 10 percent for the first time in his career.

Most of Schwarber's other stats look similar to 2017, when he hit 26 homes to go with a .233 average, but the swinging strike rate and the increased fly balls (up four percent from last season) make me think another step up could be in the works. In addition, albeit in a small sample, Schwarber has hit lefties well this season, with a .293 average and three homers in 41 at-bats against southpaws. He's still going to sit against lefties in most games, but any glimpse of success against them may start to shift that fact, and while his average could slip as he faces more