The Chicago Cubs have high hopes for High-A outfielder Matt "Scrabble" Szczur, one of the best pure...
The Chicago Cubs have high hopes for High-A outfielder Matt "Scrabble" Szczur, one of the best pure athletes in baseball. He made a lot of noise by hitting .314/.366/.431 with 17 steals in 66 games in the Midwest League last year, but his hitting tailed off after being promoted to High-A, with a .260/.283/.410 mark. Returning to Daytona this year, he's still not showing a lot of pop with an overall line of .250/.353/.348, although his plate discipline has improved a great deal (17/22 BB/K in 132 AB, compared to 5/20 BB/K in 173 last year). He's stolen 16 bases in 21 attempts and has the kind of defensive ability you'd expect with those wheels, but he's got to do more with the stick. Szczur has now played 76 games in High-A with a .256/.315/.384 mark, and that won't cut it at higher levels.



