Joe Maddon's Excited To See How Kyle Schwarber Handles His Big League Cameo

(CBS) Having been called up to the big leagues and readying to make his debut sometime soon, elite Cubs prospect Kyle Schwarber will be available to pinch hit Tuesday night against the Indians at Wrigley Field but won't be in the starting lineup, manager Joe Maddon said.

The reasoning for that is largely because Schwarber, a catcher, is still a work in progress defensively. The Cubs are calling him up for the next six games, the last five of which will be played against the Indians and Twins in American League ballparks and use a designated hitter, which will allow Schwarber to get a taste of the big leagues. After that, the Cubs play to send Schwarber to Triple-A Iowa before their series against the Dodgers starts next Monday.

Schwarber, 22, had been dominating at Double-A Tennessee, hitting .320 with 13 homers, 39 RBIs and a 1.017 OPS in 58 games.

Maddon's excited to see what Schwarber can bring, to say the least.

"His hitting ability, it's definitely high end," Maddon said in an interview on the Spiegel and Goff Show on Tuesday. "But I saw him work (in spring training) at becoming a better defender behind home plate, mentally and physically. I was really impressed with his work ethic. It's almost unparalleled for anybody that at age. And he fits in with everybody -- you'll like the guy immediately just based on the fact that he cares so much. So you'll see him in the next couple of days. It's going to be good for him and for us, and then he's going to go back to Triple-A and get on with it there. He's an exciting offensive player that's really working hard to become better defensively."

After his six-game cameo, Schwarber figures to be a prime candidate to get called up late in the season for the Cubs. For now, Maddon wants Schwarber to be himself and added he'll have minimal conversation with Schwarber about his approach because he wants to keep his stint "very uncomplicated."

"Primarily, everything's the same, and then everything's different when you walk in a major league locker room and play in a major league game," Maddon said.

"Just to get that out of the way ... where he's more comfortable when he comes back up, then he can be even more productive (later)."