SAUGET – The Gateway Grizzlies announce that they have signed outfielder Robert Chayka and infielder Paxton Wallace for the upcoming 2025 season. Both come to Sauget with several years of pro experience in the Frontier League under their belts.
Chayka hails from Chicago, and started last season with the Washington Wild Things, playing in 61 games before being sent to the Windy City ThunderBolts in a trade near the roster deadline. He hit .281 with Windy City over his final 17 games down the stretch with 12 RBIs, stealing four bases in six attempts as well. Overall, in 78 games, Chayka batted .242 with three homers, 11 doubles, 38 RBIs, and 13 stolen bases in 2024.
He also had a strong rookie year in Washington in 2023, batting .293 with six home runs, 17 doubles, 43 RBIs, and 23 stolen bases in 28 attempts across 81 games. Chayka split his college career between Kentucky Wesleyan College, where he batted .336 with nine homers and 43 RBIs in 54 games as a senior in 2022, earning a First Team All-Great Midwest Athletic Conference nod, and Spoon River College in Canton, Illinois.
Wallace comes to Gateway after spending most of last season with the Schaumburg Boomers, where he amassed a pair of home runs and seven doubles along with 17 RBIs in 40 games played. Coincidentally, the Greenbrier, Arkansas native did some of his best work at Grizzlies Ballpark against his new team, with a .300 average, three doubles, two home runs, and six RBIs over six games against Gateway. Prior to joining up with the Boomers, Wallace played in 19 games with the York Revolution in the Atlantic League in 2024.
He also saw action in the Frontier League in 2022 with the Joliet Slammers, batting .343 with four homers and 11 RBIs in 18 games before being signed by the Kansas City Royals, spending 2023 between A-Advanced Quad Cities and Triple-A Omaha in their organization. In addition, Wallace played one season at Single-A Inland Empire in the Los Angeles Angels organization in 2021, signing after a stellar final season at Wichita State University, where he batted .322 with 11 doubles, 11 homers, and 49 RBIs in 54 games to earn First Team All-American Athletic Conference honors as well as a Rawlings/ABCA Gold Glove award at third base.
Stay tuned for player signings, promotions, and more in the coming weeks by following the Grizzlies on social media, and on their website at GatewayGrizzlies.com!
