Kyle Schwarber and the Cubs won't back down from big expectations

The Chicago Cubs are going to enter 2016 with a target on their back. The club's young core, which is supposed to eventually break the curse, officially arrived last season. After the team was swept in the NLCS, the front office didn't stand pat. Reinforcements have come in the form of Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist and John Lackey.

Combine those three with the team's exceptional young talent, and it's no surprise the club will enter 2016 as the World Series favorite. That optimism isn't just Vegas picking a popular team in order to receive more action. Early projections over at FanGraphs have the Cubs winning a league-high 95 games.

Those lofty expectations aren't lost on outfielder Kyle Schwarber. Though he was the last of the team's explosive young core to be called up last season, his impact with the club should not be understated. The 22-year-old hit .256/.355/.487, with 16 home runs, in just 273 plate appearances. He also gave the Cubs their most impressive highlight of the postseason, launching a monstrous home run that landed on top of the scoreboard out in right field.

Memorable moments like that led to Schwarber teaming up with New Era for the 2016 season. Schwarber will be one of the company's brand ambassadors this year. He joins a star-studded group, which includes Andrew McCutchen, Buster Posey, Jacob deGrom and Marcus Stroman, among others. Schwarber seemed excited about the prospect, telling The Stew the company was the "best in the hat game." He added, "I think I would be crazy if I passed that [opportunity] up."

[Related: The Cubs took Kyle Schwarber's mammoth home run ball off the scoreboard]

It's pretty clear Schwarber has a lot on his plate for 2016. In addition to making strides at the plate, learning how to handle the outfield and managing new endorsements, he also has to deal with the belief that the Cubs are on the precipice of winning the World Series.

Instead of letting those worries get to head, Schwarber is embracing those expectations.

"We have to know how good we are because we don’t want to start stooping down to levels we shouldn’t be playing at," Schwarber told The Stew. "We always want to have a high level of baseball and realize that we are good."

Anyone who followed the Cubs last season will be familiar with those last three words. Members of the team coined the phrase "We Are Good" as a rallying cry. While many expected the team's young core to eventually lead them to success, few thought it would happen so soon. The team's "We Are Good" slogan may have been a way of convincing both the veterans and the youngsters that the future was now. While Schwarber was a part of that, he's not taking any credit for the franchise's rise.

"These guys turned it around," he said. "I came up in the middle of the season [and] just kinda enjoying it ... just along for the ride trying to help this team win.

"They still had to put down the foundation for what it takes to win. Now that we know what it takes to win it’s going to be very exciting coming into this next season and trying to put everything together to make that big run."

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That shouldn't be too difficult. With Heyward, Lackey and Zobrist in tow, the team somehow looks even more dangerous heading into 2016. It's clear all three will have a significant impact on Schwarber next season. He praised Zobrist's leadership, Lackey's competitiveness and Heyward's knowledge of outfield defense as major positives. It also helps that Zobrist will be walking into the Cubs clubhouse wearing a brand new World Series ring.

If there's anything that's going to stop the Cubs from meeting their goals, it's their division rivals. Both the St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates pushed the Cubs late in the season. All three clubs not only made the playoffs, but posted the three best records in the National League.

While some players might wish they played in another division, Schwarber found a way to turn to team's tough competition into a positive.

"I think [playing those teams] makes us better throughout the whole year," he said. "We had three of the best records in baseball."

He added that the high level of opponents gave the team valuable experience moving forward.

"I think it made us better as a younger club last year," he said. "Getting that experience of playing later in the season and playing for home field advantage in the wild card."

[Related: The early projections say the Cubs will win 95 games in 2016]

The hope is that those instances, combined with Schwarber's own improvements, will finally push the Cubs over the edge. As far as next season is concerned, Schwarber isn't going to take it easy after experiencing early success.

"I’m not too good for the game," he said. "I always want to be a student of the game. I always want to learn."

The Cubs find themselves in the exact same situation entering next season. For the first time in a long time, the team is on the verge of hoisting a World Series trophy. If they can adopt Schwarber's outlook, and shrug off the expectations, they'll be one step closer to making that dream a reality.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik