3 Phillies who need to step up in the NLCS

Kyle Schwarber

Lost in the excitement of the Philadelphia Phillies returning to the NLCS is the fact that Kyle Schwarber really has yet to get going this postseason.

Through the first six games, Schwarber is slashing .160/.222/.240 with zero home runs and one run batted in. Coming off a season where he slugged 47 home runs and drove in 104 runs, his overall production has been disappointing so far. However, it has been overlooked because the other big bats in the Phillies' lineup have come alive.

With that said, it's easy to forget that Schwarber started very slow last postseason before exploding in the NLCS against the San Diego Padres and was a big reason why the Phillies won that series. In last year's Championship Series, Schwarber smashed three home runs and hit .400 with an OPS of 1.571. This was highlighted by his 488-foot Schwar-bomb, crushed deep into the San Diego night.

It's also easy to see a scenario where the big left-hander gets going again soon; he has notoriously been a strong postseason performer, and the Diamondbacks don't exactly have the best pitching staff outside of Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly.

Another big series from Kyle Schwarber will go a long way for a Philadelphia Phillies return trip to the Fall Classic.