MWL1 Peoria Chiefs

Szczur, College Football Star & 5th Round Pick Joins Chiefs

Published on July 28, 2010 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Peoria Chiefs News Release


PEORIA, IL- The Peoria Chiefs and Chicago Cubs have announced a series of roster moves that lands Cubs fifth round selection Matt Szczur, a Villanova football star in the Chiefs outfield. The Chiefs also welcome back reliever Corey Martin and infielder George Matheus while infielder/catcher Jonathon Mota heads to Double-A Tennessee, reliever Jordan Latham goes down to Boise and infielder Charles Thomas heads back to Mesa. All three new players will be in uniform for the Chiefs when they host Wisconsin Wednesday night at 7:00.

Szczur was drafted in the fifth round this year and made his professional debut with the AZL Cubs going 1-for-2 with a steal and a run scored in one game before a promotion to Boise. In the Northwest League he hit .397 in 18 games with nine doubles, eight RBI and 17 runs scored. Szczur was drafted out of Villanova University where he starred on both the baseball diamond and the gridiron. Baseball wise he hit .443 as an All-Big East selection in 2010 while leading the Wildcats in eight offensive categories. He delivered 13 doubles, seven triples, four homers and struck out just nine times in 191 plate appearances. Szczur also missed 10 games of the baseball season this spring after donating peripheral blood cells to a young patient with leukemia as a member of the national Be The Match registry. Szczur led the Wildcats to the NCAA I-AA Championship last season as the Colonial Athletic Association Offensive and Special Teams Player of the Year. He ran for 813 yards on 108 carries with 10 touchdowns while also catching 51 balls for 610 yards and four TD. He was named the Most Outstanding Player in the National Championship game with 270 all-purpose yards and a career-high 159 rushing yards. He is expected to leave the Chiefs in early August to return to Villanova to help the Wildcats defend their National Championship.

Martin left the Chiefs last Tuesday for Triple-A Iowa where he pitched in one game. On July 21, Martin allowed two runs on three hits and three strikeouts in 1 2/3 innings against Oklahoma City. He returned to the Chiefs on July 9 and appeared in three games going 1-1 with a save and a 15.43 ERA in 2 1/3 innings. Overall on the season he is 2-2 with a save and an 11.45 ERA in 10 Chiefs outings. Martin was much better with the Northwest League Boise Hawks going 0-0 with seven saves and a 1.00 ERA in eight outings.

Matheus started the season in the Chiefs infield and hit .160 in 16 games. He was 8-for-50 with three doubles and four RBI from Opening Day through May 11. His last game with the Chiefs was an 0-3 game with a RBI on May 11 against Clinton at O'Brien Field. Matheus excelled during Extended Spring Training games before heading to Boise when the Hawks season began in mid-June. In 16 games with Boise, Matheus was hitting .237 with one double and two RBI before his promotion back to Peoria.

Latham was the Chiefs closer for the first half of the season racking up 10 saves before the All-Star break. Overall he heads to Boise with a 1-3 record, 11 saves and a 4.81 ERA. He appeared in more games this season than any other Chiefs pitcher with 35 outings in which he struck out 43 and walked 28 in 39 1/3 innings.

Mota played in 44 games with the Chiefs batting .281 with two homers, eight doubles and 24 RBI. He caught 31 games and played third base in the others. Since returning to the Chiefs from Daytona on July 10 he only caught once and is expected to play the infield for Tennessee after a hand injury to former Chiefs third baseman Josh Vitters.

Thomas hit .176 in 43 games with the Chiefs as a third baseman. The former 10th round draft pick out of Jacksonville, FL had four homers with 16 RBI and three doubles. All of his homers came in a two-week span from the end of May to early June. Thomas heads back to the Cubs complex in Mesa, AZ.

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