PHOTO CREDIT: EMILIE LEIVIAN/WICHITA WINGNUTS
DURHAM, N.C.- Wichita Wingnuts INF Matt Chavez might only be a rookie, but he didn’t play like one in the month of August. Chavez racked up a .362 (38-for-105) average with 10 doubles, eight home runs and 26 RBI. Those numbers earned Chavez the American Association’s Rawlings Player of the Month award for August.
The Burlingame, Calif. native registered 13 multi-hit games over the course of August, including four straight to end the month. Chavez was 4-for-6 in a 16-0 Sunday win over the Texas AirHogs, hitting two home runs in the process. He kept the streak going Monday with a 3-for-4 performance in a 5-4 win over the Joplin Blasters. Wichita topped Joplin again on Tuesday, a 6-3 win highlighted by a 2-for-4 night from Chavez. He collected a double and an RBI in the process. Chavez ended August with a bang, going 3-for-4 on Wednesday night with a double, two home runs, and three RBI. In addition to this week’s power surge, Chavez also hit two home runs in a 4-1 win at the Lincoln Saltdogs on August 6.
He is now batting .355 (86-for-242) on the season, with 21 doubles, 15 home runs and 59 RBI to his credit. Chavez owns a narrow one-point edge over teammate Harrison Kain for the American Association batting lead. Previously, Chavez was named the American Association’s Pointstreak Player of the Week for the week ending July 24.
Chavez is in his third year as a professional, having played parts of both 2014 and 2015 in affiliated baseball. He played in 10 games with the Augusta GreenJackets, the Class A Affiliate of the San Francisco Giants in 2014, also playing in the Frontier League, Pacific Association and United League that season. Chavez was back in the Pacific Association in 2015 for 66 games, but earned the chance to play in the San Diego Padres’ system at season’s end. In 15 games with the Class A Advanced Lake Elsinore Storm, Chavez hit .293 with four doubles, three home runs and eight RBI. Prior to his professional career, Chavez played for four seasons at the University of San Francisco.
The Wingnuts will take on the St. Paul Saints tonight at 7:05 p.m. Central time at CHS Field in St. Paul. The game can be seen live and for free at www.americanassociationbaseball.tv.
Rawlings is the official baseball of the American Association. They are located in St. Louis, MO and are the official helmet of Major League Baseball and the exclusive supplier of baseballs to Major League Baseball since 1977. For more information about Rawlings go to: http://www.rawlings.com.
