Joey Votto's transition from Cincinnati Reds franchise icon to MLB Network analyst has not dulled the curiosity that defined his playing career. On a Honors Class segment with host Brian Kenny, the former NL MVP made plain that the player keeping him up at night this season is Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber.
Votto opened with the headline that summarises why. "My two favourite types of players are the ones that get better throughout the course of their career," he said. "You want to ask them why and how. We're as players we're always trying to keep our head above level because the major league game is so difficult. But then the idea of being able to expand our potential and improve as our career moves along — and Kyle is that perfect example."
Schwarber, who is in his age-33 season, leads the National League in slugging at .624 and is on pace for a home-run total Votto immediately framed as historic. "Last year with that big 50 — 55 plus, 56 I think he finished with — and this year on like a 60-something homer pace," Votto said. "He's in his 30s, only now seeing him come into his full potential."
The natural follow-up — what would Votto ask Schwarber if they were both still in uniform — drew a Honors Class confession. "How are you doing this?" Votto said. "How are you hitting so many home runs so deep into your career? It's the most interesting thing for me. So I would be asking that."
Kenny pushed Votto on what stood out about Schwarber's approach. Was it patience? Was it pitch-attack? Votto's answer cut through to the most tactical edge of Schwarber's current run. "I don't know if you observed him against the Pirates," Votto said. "I mean, he homered twice and then all of a sudden they fired zero fastballs. He got no fastballs for a stretch of time. And to answer your question, I think that's just his skill set. He has the ability to get as deep into a count and stretch a count out as long as he wants."
Votto, a self-confessed boxing fan, reached for a heavyweight metaphor to describe the discipline. "He feels like to me like one of those guys that I'll take you to the 15th round and still knock you out," he said. "You and I both being boxing fans — he doesn't care."
The theme of the segment — Schwarber's role-shift from leadoff slugger to clean-up monster, his comfort in 12-pitch at-bats, his ability to ambush the first strike of a count — felt like Votto building a scouting report aloud. For a player who once made plate discipline his own franchise selling point in Cincinnati, the analysis carried unusual weight. The Phillies have benefited from Schwarber's reinvention, but Votto's takeaway looked forward. The man on a 60-homer pace at 33, he suggested, is doing something the game hasn't quite seen before.
