In 26-year-old Matt Szczur, the reserve outfielder could see some additional playing time this season, and already this season he’s played in three games with seven at-bats entering Saturday. Thus far in ’16, Szczur has four hits, scoring two runs. Of those hits, one has been a double and one was a home run, as his very early season batting average is .571 after the handful of at-bats.
Last season, Szczur played in 47 games for the Cubs, a season where he batted .222 but did have five doubles, and one home run. With his hitting, he was able to tally eight RBIs in ’15, and already this season Szczur has collected four RBIs.
He also played three of 26 games in left field last season with a 1.000 fielding percentage, and in parts of three seasons with Chicago he’s yet to commit an error, which is a total of 75 chances in 62 games in the field.
This season, Szczur has played 15 innings in left field entering this weekend’s games, but he’s going to have to compete with Jorge Soler for playing time. Would the Cubs be better off keeping him in a reserve role and calling upon him when needed?
It is a tricky situation the Cubs are in, but it could be a lot worse. With the depth on their roster, the Cubs have Szczur as one of a few different options moving forward.
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