The first Senior out of University taken by the A’s, Mike Spina stands at 6′0 219, but after just two seasons at Cincy (after a JC stint), Spina looks destined for great things.
He hit .377 as a Junior, and was therefore drafted by the Minnesota Twins in Round 45, after knocking 21 HR’s. That pick too low for him, so he came back for his senior year, and boy did he deliver.
Hitting .342 in his final year as a Bearcat, Spina added to his HR total from last year, and smashed 23 this year, on top of driving in 69 RBI. He still had 7 doubles, and held a team-high slugging percentage of .675. His OBP of .446 was second to just Lance Durham who batted .427 on the year.
Spina did have 15 errors, but what a bat.
44 HR’s in two seasons is unthought of in short-season baseball, but in College, for Spina, it was nothing out of the ordinary.
There are two situations here, and I have a feeling as to which way it’ll go: He signs and plays pro ball, or he gets a job.
What job is better than playing for the Oakland A’s?
These picks just keep on piling up, because so far, I’ve seen only a few I disagree with, and this ain’t one of them.
3 users commented in " Oakland Athletics 11th Round pick: Mike Spina (3B, Cincinnati) "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackOakland got a great pick, player and team mate
This kid has the experience !! He’s not green around the collar like these high school kids !
He has the power and knowledge of baseball.
I’ve seen him play in Cincinnati and up in New York with the NYCBL during the summer of 08 He was by far the better player and fan favorite!
Oakland got a steal here! Hope you fans love this kid like we all did !! GO A’s……….
Consider this team blessed to have this kid! He has a baseball heart and soul. I have personally seen him play, he is very serious and loves to play ball. Glad to see Oakland picked him, you will be very happy with all his talent that he is bringing to this organization. Hope you spent a little more on this player. You won’t regret it! The fans will love him. He already has a large fan base following him. Good luck !
Looks like the A’s had some great picks this year!! I did some research on this kid Spina. What I found is some very impressive stats. In High School he was an outstanding hitter and short stop in North Florida. In Jr.College he didn’t change any. When he arrived at the University of Cincinnati he tore up the Big East. In just 2yrs he had 44-hr,148-rbi,162-hts
108-runs He broke Youks HR record and his own.
Yes he had 23-errors,but Dominguez had 23 in 09
and he was taken in the 4th rd. This senior should have been picked much sooner. After much reading,seniors don’t get much of a signing bonus after rd-10 shame shame for this kid. He’s worth the big bucks everybody else gets. The MLB shouldn’t punish college seniors
for staying in college. I was never a one for giving High School players all that money. They have no clue what life’s about and they get big heads,like their the greatest.I wish this kid Spina all the best for his career.I hope to watch him play in the “Bigs” someday.
He might be another Sal Bando ??
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