Cory Spangenberg

Cory Spangenberg
Spangenberg with the Lake Elsinore Storm
San Diego Padres – No. 15
Second baseman
Born: (1991-03-16) March 16, 1991
Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania
Bats: Left Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 1, 2014, for the San Diego Padres
MLB statistics
(through September 19, 2018)
Batting average .258
Home runs 27
Runs batted in 109
Teams

Cory Joseph Spangenberg (/ˈspænənbɜːrɡ/; born March 16, 1991) is an American professional baseball second baseman for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball.

Early career

Spangenberg graduated from Abington Heights High School in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, in 2009. During his senior year, he led the Abington Heights Comets varsity baseball team to a Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class AAA state championship. Spangenberg attended the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in 2010, and played college baseball for the VMI Keydets. He was named the Big South Conference's freshman of the year. He transferred to Indian River State College in 2011, stating that the military commitment of VMI took too much time away from baseball and his coursework.[1]

Professional career

Minor Leagues

Spangenberg was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the first round, with the 10th overall selection, of the 2011 MLB Draft.[2] Spangenberg signed with the Padres, receiving a $1.863 million signing bonus.[1] He made his professional debut with the Eugene Emeralds and was promoted to the Fort Wayne TinCaps in July. In 72 games between both teams, he batted .316 with three home runs and 44 RBIs. Before the 2012 season, MLB.com rated Spangenberg as the 81st best prospect in baseball.[3]

Spangenberg played for the Lake Elsinore Storm in 2012 where he hit .271 with one home run and 40 RBIs in 98 games, and Lake Elsinore and the San Antonio Missions in 2013 where he slashed .292/.346/.407 with six home runs and 51 RBIs in 130 games. He spent 2014 with the San Antonio Missions. He missed two months of the season in 2014 after suffering a concussion,[4] but was named the Texas League Player of the Month for July after returning to the Missions.[5] Spangenberg, who had primarily played second base in his minor league career, also moved around the field in 2014, making starts at third base and in center field.[6] In 66 games for San Antonio, he batted .331 with two home runs and 22 RBIs.[7]

San Diego Padres

Spangenberg was promoted by the Padres to the Major Leagues on September 1, 2014,[8] receiving a start at third base and recording his first Major League hit, a two-run single.[6] He hit a walk-off home run off Brad Ziegler of the Arizona Diamondbacks in his second Major League game. He played in 20 games in 2014, making starts at third and in left field.

Spangenberg made the opening-day roster in 2015 as a bench player, making occasional appearances at second and third.[9] By June 2015, Spangenberg began to gain playing time at second base, due to the struggles of Jedd Gyorko.[10] He suffered a knee injury in late June and went on the disabled list,[11] returning in mid-August.[12] For 2015, Spangenberg finished with a .271/.333/.399 batting line and 4 home runs in 108 games, with 48 starts at second base and 11 at third.

Spangenberg was the starting second baseman on the 2016 opening-day roster, but he tore his quad in April and played in only 14 games that season.[13] Jemile Weeks, and later Alexi Amarista and Ryan Schimpf, picked up most of the remaining time at second base.

Spangenberg was one of the final roster cuts in 2017 Spring Training after competing with Schimpf for the starting third-base job.[14] He was recalled on April 25 after hitting .348 in El Paso while Schimpf struggled with the Padres.[15] Spangenberg started slowly, but improved in the second half, putting up a .794 OPS with eight home runs after the All-Star break and claiming the third-base position as Yangervis Solarte transitioned to shortstop in August.[13] He finished with a .264/.322/.401 batting line and 13 home runs in 129 games, with 86 starts at third base, 12 in left field, and 4 at second.

References

  1. 1 2 Lacy Lusk (June 30, 2011). "Padres first-round pick Cory Spangenberg is off to a fast start after signing quickly". Washington Post. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  2. "Padres select left-handed-hitting infielder Cory Spangenberg with the 10th overall Draft pick". San Diego Padres. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  3. "2012 Prospect Watch | MLB.com: News". Mlb.mlb.com. May 24, 2013. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
  4. Brock, Corey (June 30, 2014). "Spangenberg back in action as outfielder". MLB.com. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  5. CONOR FOLEY / STAFF WRITER. "Cory Spangenberg: 'AS GOOD AS I'VE FELT'". thetimes-tribune.com. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  6. 1 2 Whelan, Mark. "Cory Spangenberg Impresses in Padres Debut". Friars On Base. FanSided. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  7. "Cory Spangenberg Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  8. "Spangenberg calls big league callup 'surreal'". San Diego Padres. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  9. Lin, Dennis (April 6, 2015). "Spangenberg relishes opening-day job". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  10. Vingle, Mitch (June 9, 2015). "The state of the state's MLB players". Charleston Gazette. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  11. "Padres infielder Cory Spangenberg (knee contusion) making slow progress - SanDiegoUnionTribune.com". The San Diego Union-Tribune. July 10, 2015. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  12. Fox Sports. "Padres reinstate infielder Cory Spangenberg". FOX Sports. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  13. 1 2 Cassavell, AJ (August 15, 2017). "Healthy again, Spangenberg having an impact". Padres news. MLB.com. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  14. Lin, Dennis (April 1, 2017). "Padres set opening-day roster, option Cory Spangenberg to El Paso". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  15. Lin, Dennis (April 25, 2017). "Padres outright Christian Bethancourt to El Paso, recall Cory Spangenberg". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
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