Chiefs Lead the West with Six All-Stars

PEORIA, IL- The Peoria Chiefs in conjunction with the Midwest League have announced that six Chiefs players will represent the West in the June 21 All-Star game in Quad Cities. Among the six are three starters: OF Matt Szczur, 2B Pierre LePage and 3B Greg Rohan. Catcher Micah Gibbs and first baseman Richard Jones will be among the reserves while LHP Austin Kirk is on the pitching staff.

Szczur, 21, enters play on Friday with a .340 batting average, three home runs, 10 doubles, 15 RBI, 34 runs scored and 14 stolen bases. The Cape May, NJ native is the second toughest player in the MWL to strikeout. Szczur is third in the MWL in batting average and fourth in runs scored.

LePage, 22, landed on the disabled list on Friday with a groin injury but he is batting .271 with 12 doubles, 30 runs scored, two homers, 19 RBI and seven steals. The Wolcott, CT native has just four errors in 43 games at second base and with just nine strikeouts in 192 plate appearance is the toughest batter in the MWL to strikeout.

Rohan, 25, is second in the MWL in batting average at .349 starting play on Friday. The North Lima, OH native is third in the league with 58 hits and has a league-best 14-game hit streak. Rohan has three homers, 13 doubles and a team best 35 RBI.

Gibbs, 22, is batting .311 with one homer, four doubles, nine RBI and a team-high 28 walks. His .459 on-base percentage would lead the MWL if he had enough plate appearances to qualify. In 29 starts behind the plate, the Pflugerville, TX native has just one error and one passed ball with a team ERA of 3.19 in games he catches.

Jones, 23, had an outstanding May and starts play on Friday sixth in the league in batting average at .320. The Sumter, SC native is also fifth in the league in home runs with eight and third in slugging percentage at .500. Jones has a team-best 15 doubles to go along with 28 RBI and 21 runs scored.

Kirk, 21, has established himself as the team ace with a 3-2 record and a 2.04 ERA in 10 starts. Kirk has a team-high four quality starts and has gone at least five innings in nine straight outings. The Owasso, OK native is ninth in the league in ERA, third in WHIP at 0.85 and leads the MWL in opponents batting average at .171.

Peoria is tied for the most All-Stars in the Midwest League as Burlington also has six on the West. South Bend and Lake County have six on the East. Lansig is the only other team in either division to have three players voted in as starters. The Chiefs also had six All-Stars in 2005 and 2009 and they had a franchise record seven All-Stars in the 2002 Championship season. The Midwest League All-Star game takes place on Tuesday, June 21 in Quad Cities.