Cubs place catcher Miguel Montero on 15-day D.L., recall catcher Kyle Schwarber from Triple-A

CHICAGO - The Chicago Cubs today placed catcher Miguel Montero on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to July 12) with a sprained left thumb and recalled catcher Kyle Schwarber from Triple-A Iowa.

Schwarber will be available for the Cubs tonight against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field.

The 22-year-old Schwarber returns for his second stint with the Cubs this season, as he batted .364 (8-for-22) with a triple, home run and six RBI during a six-game run from June 16-21. He made his big league debut as a defensive replacement on June 16 vs. Cleveland and made his first start on June 17 in Cleveland, going 4-for-5 with a triple, RBI and three runs scored as the designated hitter. He recorded his first big league home run the next night in Cleveland.

Following his big league stint, Schwarber was optioned to Iowa for his first stop at Triple-A and batted .333 (20-for-60) with seven doubles, three homers, 10 RBI and seven walks in 17 games. On Sunday in Cincinnati, Schwarber was named Most Valuable Player of the Futures Game after going 1-for-3 with a two-run triple as the starting catcher and three-hole hitter for the U.S. Team in their 10-1 victory vs. the World Team.

Schwarber was selected by the Cubs in the first round of the 2014 Draft (fourth overall) and has batted .333 (173-for-519) with 35 doubles, 34 homers, 102 RBI, 88 walks and a 1.042 OPS in 147 minor league games. He began the season ranked the fourth-best prospect in the organization by Baseball America and was recently ranked the 15th-best prospect in all of baseball by ESPN.com.

The left-handed hitting Schwarber began the 2015 season with Tennessee, where he batted .320 (63-for-197) with 10 doubles, one triple, 13 home runs and 39 RBI in 58 games to earn Southern League All-Star honors. He turned in a .438 on-base percentage and a .579 slugging percentage, good for a 1.017 OPS, prior to his June 16 call-up to the majors.

Schwarber was drafted by the Cubs out of Indiana University, where he was a two-time First-Team All-American after batting .341 with 40 home runs and 149 RBI in 180 career games. He was named one of three finalists for the 2014 Johnny Bench Award, given to the top Division One catcher in the nation, and was selected as the top catcher in the country by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association in 2013.

The 6-foot, 235-pound Schwarber played across three levels in the Cubs system last year, culminating with 44 games with Single-A Daytona. He hit above .300 at each level and collected three Player of the Week honors along the way. He finished third among Cubs minor leaguers with 18 home runs despite not making his season debut until June 13.

Montero, 32, is batting .230 (50-for-217) with five doubles, 10 home runs and 32 RBI in 73 games during his first season with the Cubs.