Spangenberg vaults to Midwest League

It's becoming increasingly rare for first-round picks to play the year they are drafted. Cory Spangenberg has gone two better.

After burning up the short-season Northwest League, Spangenberg reached base twice and stole a base after moving up to the Midwest League as Class A Fort Wayne beat Burlington, 3-2, on Wednesday.

The 20-year-old second baseman opened his game with a one-out walk in the first inning, but was erased on a fielder's choice to third base. Spangenberg reached in the third after being hit by Jose Macias' pitch and promptly stole second base. Spangenberg finished 0-for-2 and was flawless in the field, handling two chances.

Spangenberg was the 10th overall pick by the Padres in June out of Indian River State College. He signed on June 10, four days after his selection. He batted .384 for Eugene and was the league's Player of the Week twice over the first three weeks of the season. Spangenberg was leading the circuit with 31 walks at the time of his promotion and stood third in the league with a 1.080 OPS.

The Pennsylvania native garnered significant praise in his pro debut for Emeralds manager Pat Murphy. The former Arizona State University coach compared Spangenberg to Dustin Pedroia, the 2008 American League MVP whom Murphy coached in college.

Rymer Liriano homered, tripled and stole his 44th base while Connor Powers went yard for the TinCaps.

Mark Hardy improved to 6-7 after allowing two runs on five hits and fanning six over six innings.