Chapman is the 178th former Northwoods League player to debut in MLB
Rochester, Minn. – Former La Crosse Logger infielder, Matt Chapman, made his Major League debut for the Oakland Athletics on Thursday, June 15, 2017. Chapman is the 178th former Northwoods League player to reach the Major League level.
Chapman, who played collegiately at Cal State Fullerton, played for the La Crosse Loggers in 2012. He was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 1st round, 25th overall, of the 2014 MLB Draft.
In 2012 with the Loggers, Chapman hit .279 in 53 games and had seven home runs and 13 doubles. He also drove in 30 runs.
Chapman started his Minor League career in 2014 with the Athletics Rookie Level team in the Arizona League. After three games, he was promoted to the Beloit Snappers of the Lo-A Midwest League. He would appear in 50 games in Beloit and then finish the season with one game with the Midland RockHounds of the AA Texas League. For the season, he hit a combined .246 with five home runs, four triples, nine doubles and 20 RBI.
Chapman would spend the entire 2015 season with the Stockton Ports in the Hi-A California League. In 80 games, he hit .250 and drove in 57 runs. Chapman would hit 23 home runs and add 21 doubles and three triples. He also walked 39 times and stole four bases.
The 2016 season had Chapman in Midland for 117 games before a promotion to the Nashville Sounds of the AAA Pacific Coast League. For the season, he hit a combined .237 with a career high 36 home runs and 96 RBI. He also had career highs in doubles with 27, triples with five, stolen bases with seven and walks with 68. In the field, he committed only 11 errors in 403 chances for a .973 fielding percentage.
Prior to his call-up to Oakland, Chapman had played in 48 games and was hitting .259 with 16 home runs, six doubles and two triples. He had stolen five bases and walked 25 times.
In his Major League debut against the New York Yankees, Chapman started the game at third base. For the game he went 0 for 3 with a run scored and two walks.
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. The 23-year old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 170 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM) and Lucas Duda (NYM). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.
