Cory Spangenberg Updated 7/1

6′ 180lbs hits from the left side

Build: By no means is Spangenberg a physical presence on the diamond. He touches 6′ barely and is a ways away from 200 lbs. That being said his thin frame does look like it can pack on some more pounds and there is plenty of room to dream on a build like that.

Batting: For a young hitter Cory is very advanced at the plate. He works counts well and is perfectly suited for the 2 hole in a lineup as he will not get himself out early in the count. Everything is loose and relaxed in his stance. He has a miniscule stride which leaves him well balanced throughout the swing. There is already above average batspeed present in the swing. He has shown a very good eye at the plate. With the combination of batspeed, maturity, and tracking skills it is easy to imagine pitchers describing him as “frustrating” down the road as I do not see him racking up the strikeout totals. He can hit the ball deeper in the zone than any of the Em’s hitters and this allows him to fight off tons of pitches and turn a pitchers pitch into a single. The swing has a very good plane and will continue to show more “lift” as Cory develops as a hitter. That being said I do not see a great amount of growth left in the swing. This is not a bad thing but do not expect Cory to be joining the ranks of Cano, Phillips, Kinsler, etc.. as he moves through the Padres system. I see Cory as a player with a very high floor but not an astronomical ceiling.

UPDATE: So far Cory has been solid at working the left center gap with decent line drives. I was wondering if Cory really had the ability to pull his hands in and drive that inside pitch and do more than just spoil it and he has put that concern. On a well spotted inside fastball he got his hands positioned perfectly and smoked a ball to the right field fence. Cory does not mind hitting from behind in the count. He behind in the count quite often but you wouldn’t know it from his stats or his swings.

Fielding: Good range, soft hands, a mediocre arm but at 2nd base this will not be exploited. I don’t think Cory will ever be renowned for his defense but neither will it be a liability. He just goes out there and does his job.