Szczur Will Head to Daytona After Futures Game
July 9, 2011 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Peoria Chiefs News Release
Peoria, IL - The Peoria Chiefs and Chicago Cubs have announced a series of Saturday roster moves that includes All-Star and Cubs prospect Matt Szczur joining the Advanced-A Daytona Cubs after Sunday's MLB Futures Game in Phoenix. In addition to the Szczur promotion, left-hander Brent Ebinger has joined Double-A Tennessee, Su-Min Jung has gone to Short-Season Boise, Robinson Lopez has been activated from the disabled list and the Chiefs will add 2011 draftee Ben Klafczynski from Boise. In the final roster move of the day, left-hander Graham Hicks has been placed on the disabled list with a shoulder injury and sent to Mesa for rehab.
In 68 games this season Szczur hit .314 with 55 runs scored, five homers, 27 RBI, 15 doubles and 17 stolen bases. He walked 21 times and struck out just 28 times while ranking as the third hardest player in the Midwest League for pitchers to strikeout. Szczur leaves the Chiefs as the team leader in batting average, runs scored and stolen bases. The .314 batting average has Szczur tied for third in the MWL and he is also third in runs scored. The 21-year old had just one outfield error in 145 chances this season while recording three outfield assists. A native of Cape May, NJ, Szczur led off for the Chiefs in every game he started this season and hit .385 against left-handed pitching. He started the MWL All-Star game in June and became the third Chiefs player in three years to be named to the MLB Futures Game which takes place Sunday in Phoenix, AZ.
Ebinger pitched five times for the Chiefs going 1-1 with a save and a 1.32 ERA. He struck out six and walked one in 13 2/3 innings. He joined the Chiefs on June 14 and threw five innings the next night in a loss to Wisconsin in which he allowed just one run. Ebinger filled the long relief role again on June 28 when he followed Graham Hicks at Wisconsin and earned a 4-1 win. The 23-year-old earned his first professional save on Wednesday in the 3-2 win over Beloit as he retired the Snappers 1-2-3 in the top of the ninth. A 2010 32nd round draft pick out of Lambuth University, Ebinger did not allow a run in his final 7 2/3 innings. Before joining the Chiefs he went 5-4 with a 7.12 ERA in 15 games and three starts this season for Advanced-A Daytona in the Florida State League.
Jung, 21, pitched four shutout innings Friday night and posted a 2-2 record with a 5.36 ERA in 13 outings this season. The South Korean native started three games in May and earned his first professional save in Cedar Rapids on May 29. Jung consistently worked in a piggyback tandem and only threw more than four innings one time as he tossed 6 1/3 against Kane County in a win May 8. Jung walked 24 and struck out 19 while hitting five and throwing seven wild pitches in 43 2/3 innings of work. Friday night was the first time since June 8 that Jung did not allow a run as he kept the Chiefs tied with Beloit 1-1 after relieving Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano. Jung played the entire season in Peoria last year, going 7-4 with a 3.93 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 89 innings. Klafczynski appeared in 19 games for the Boise Hawks, hitting .221 with 1 HR and 11 RBI. He started 13 games in left-field, one in right-field and four as the Hawks designated hitter. After a slow start, Klafczynski went 3-for-4 on July 1 against the Yakima Bears with a home run, four RBI, and two runs scored. He has been a force with runners on-base and two outs, hitting .474 with six RBI. Klafczynski was the career leader in Kent State history in total bases (520) and runs scored (211) while he was second in at-bats (891), hits (312), doubles (79), and RBIs (197). The Granger Township, OH native was a First Team All-MAC pick in 2011, hitting a team-best .368 with a team-high 91 hits, 19 doubles, and 57 RBIs. Klafczynski played one year at Kent State with current Chiefs All-Star Greg Rohan and he was drafted in the 20th round this June after leading the Golden Flashes to the championship game of the NCAA Austin Regional before a loss to Texas. Lopez returns from the disabled list after nearly a month out of action. The 20-year-old was pulled from the June 15 game against Wisconsin with and adductor strain after throwing a perfect inning with two strikeouts. He officially went on the DL June 16 as Matt Loosen arrived from Daytona. For the season Lopez is 4-3 with a save and a 4.56 ERA in 15 games and four starts. He began the season in a piggyback tandem with Dallas Beeler but moved full-time to the bullpen on May 22. Since that move he is 1-1 with seven runs allowed in 10 1/3 innings. Lopez has 25 strikeouts this season but 20 walks in 49 1/3 innings. Lopez joined the Chiefs in late August, 2010 after being acquired from Atlanta in exchange for first baseman Derrek Lee. With the Chiefs last season Lopez was 1-0 with a 2.61 ERA in four games and two starts. He started the 2010 season with the Rome Braves in the South Atlantic League going 3-8 with a 4.37 ERA in 14 outings.
Hicks went 1-3 with a 4.01 ERA in 14 starts this season for the Chiefs. The lefty was on the DL from May 1-13 with an unrelated arm injury. He last pitched against Clinton on Sunday, July 3 and threw five innings in which he allowed just one run on one hit with six strikeouts. The Lakeland, FL native beat Cedar Rapids on May 29 for his first Chiefs win and only allowed more than three runs in three of his 14 starts this season. In his two second-half starts, Hicks was emerging as a shutdown starter for the Chiefs with just two runs allowed on four hits over 8 1/3 innings. The 21-year-old was acquired by the Cubs in January 2011 in the deal that sent Tom Gorzelanny to the Washington Nationals. The Chiefs roster remains three players short of the 25-player limit heading into the three-game series at Cedar Rapids. After a league-wide off day for the MLB All-Star game on Tuesday, the Chiefs return home Wednesday, July 13 for a six-game homestand. The first three games are against the defending MWL Champion Lake County Captains (Cleveland Indians) while the final three are against the 2009 MWL Champion Fort Wayne Tincaps (San Diego Padres). Wednesday is dollar night with $1 hot dogs, $1 sodas and $1 ice cream sandwiches while Thursday is a Thirsty Thursday with $2 domestic draft beers and fountain sodas. Friday, July 15 is 80s night with a special appearance by the ZOOperstars! Tickets are available online at www.peoriachiefs.com, by calling 1-866-MYTICKET and at the O'Brien Field Box Office.
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