Baseball Notebook: Iowa Cubs experiencing the 'Schwarber Effect'

CEDAR RAPIDS — The only people remotely happy with Kyle Schwarber's struggles this season have to be the Iowa Cubs and the folks of greater Des Moines.

The Chicago Cubs outfielder was sent to Triple-A this past week after an awful first three months that saw him hit .171 in 64 games. It was time to regroup.

Schwarber's demotion just so happens to come, probably not coincidenally, when the I-Cubs are on a week-long homestand. That's called good timing for Central Iowa.

'It's been great,' said Iowa Cubs broadcaster and Director of Media Relations Randy Wehofer. 'We are in a unique position for some of these guys that have been here before, so we have at least a surface relationship. Kyle wasn't here very long in 2015, but he knows what he's coming back to here and how things are set up, so there is a comfort level there.'

Schwarber hit two home runs in Iowa's win Friday night over Round Rock. He is 7-for-19 in five games, with nine strikeouts.

'He has handled everything just as you'd have hoped professionally,' Wehofer said. 'He's here to get his work done, get out on the field early and get some swings in and do all of those things. He has been very generous with the fans, with some autographs after the game, especially early in the week. We can't promise that is going to happen every day, but he has gone above and beyond, probably, of what you could have hoped in the first few days.

'I think he understands that he is an abassador for the Chicago Cubs, in addition to trying to get himself untracked offensively and get himself back to Chicago.'

Iowa has seen a very nice bump in attendance, as you'd expect. It averages 7,034 fans per game, but has had one crowd near 9,000, two over 9,000 and one Friday that was 13,975.

With this being a holiday weekend, you can expect more five-digit attendance figures. It's the 'Schwarber Effect.'

'People certainly did respond,' Wehofer said. 'Kyle has told me and everyone else that he feels really good. Baseball is a hard game. Get some things ironed out away from the microscope of the big-league club and go from there. We're excited to have him here and hope it doesn't last long. We're not waiting for him to fail by any stretch. It's good for the Iowa Cubs for this to be a place where guys can come to get straightened out and get back (to the big leagues) quickly, because it will happen in the future.'

FORMER KERNEL JORGE MAKES BIG LEAGUE DEBUT

Former Cedar Rapids Kernels pitcher Felix Jorge was scheduled to make his major league debut Saturday night as the starter for the Minnesota Twins in the back half of their day-nigh double-header at Kansas City.

Jorge was 8-1 with a 3.26 earned run average in 14 starts this season for Double-A Chattanooga.

He pitched all of the 2015 season and made nine starts in 2014 with the Kernels.

Jorge is the ninth former Kernel to play in the big leagues since Cedar Rapids and the Twins became affiliation partners five years ago. The others are pitchers Randy Rosario, Jose Berrios, Tyler Duffey, Taylor Rogers and Trevor Hildenberger, infielder Jorge Polanco and outfielders Byron Buxton and Max Kepler.

POPPEN PROMOTED, JAX COMES IN

The Kernels and Twins announced Saturday that starting pitcher Sean Poppen has been promoted to high-Class A Fort Myers and been replaced on the active roster by pitcher Griffin Jax, who joins the club from Rookie-level Elizabethton.

Poppen was 6-2 with a 2.90 earned run average in 14 starts for Cedar Rapids. He allowed only 76 hits in 87 innings.

Jax, a right-hander, made one start for E-town, striking out seven in 4 2/3 innings. He was a third-round draft pick of the Twins last year out of Air Force and is pitching during a 60-day leave prior to being assigned to Cape Canaveral in Florida as an acquisitions officer.

HOW THEY'RE DOING

Jake Adams (University of Iowa) — First baseman is hitting .208 (5-for-24) in his first seven pro games with Shortseason-A Tri-City (Astros). He has two home runs and four RBIs.

Joel Booker (University of Iowa) — Outfielder went 4-for-21 in his first week at high-A Winston-Salem (White Sox), with an RBI.

Matt Dermody (University of Iowa) — Relief pitcher is 5-1 in 26 games for Triple-A Buffalo (Blue Jays) with 3.51 ERA.

Ryan Erickson (University of Iowa) — Recent draft pick has pitched in two games for Arizona Rookie League White Sox. Has thrown three innings, allowed five hits and a run, recording a save.

Blake Hickman (University of Iowa) — Right-handed pitcher has made six starts for low-A Kannapolis (White Sox) and has a 1-2 record and 3.50 ERA. Allowed only 28 hits in 36 innings.

Jon Keller (Cedar Rapids Xavier) — Has thrown in four games for Shortseason-A Aberdeen (Orioles) on an official rehab assigment. Has allowed two hits and a run in five innings, striking out six.

Mitch Keller (Cedar Rapids Xavier) — Returned from the disabled list this week with four innings of hitless ball for high-A Bradenton (Orioles). Has a 2.66 ERA in nine starts for the Pirates.

Derrick Loveless (Solon) — Outfielder hitting .257 in 37 games since getting promoted to Double-A New Hampshire (Blue Jays). Also has 10 RBIs.

Mason McCoy (University of Iowa) — Infielder is 2-for-12 (.167) in four games for Shortseason-A Aberdeen (Orioles). Has driven in two runs.

Tyler Peyton (University of Iowa) — Pitcher is 2-2 with a 4.28 ERA in nine games, one start, for low-A South Bend (Cubs).

A.J. Puk (Cedar Rapids Washington) — Left-hander couldn't get out of the first inning in his second start for Double-A Midland, allowing three hits, three walks and four runs in one-third of an inning. Was picked to pitch in 2017 Futures Game in a couple of weeks.

Scott Schebler (Cedar Rapids Prairie) — Cincinnati Reds outfielder hitting .259 in 75 games, with 20 home runs and 40 RBIs.

Jake Yacinich (University of Iowa) — Shortstop has eight hits in his last five games for high-A Inland Empire (Angels), boosting batting average to .263 in 51 games.

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