Right-handed pitcher Shea Spitzbarth openly shares his disappointment at not being selected in the 2015 First Year Player Draft and why wouldn’t he? While 1,215 high school and college players were picked by the 30 MLB teams, Spitzbarth was overlooked. Amid his disappointment the 20-year-old native of Staten Island, New York concluded that MLB teams perhaps felt he needed one more year of experience at the college level.

Spitzbarth began his baseball odyssey with the Moore Catholic High School Mavericks on Staten Island. During his three years of high school play he was named as an all-star at various levels including an All-City, All-Staten Island, and Advance All-Star Honoree. He played an instrumental role in helping the Mavericks capture a Staten Island Championship in 2012.

Shea Spitzbarth
(Photo courtesy of perfectgame.org)

Following his high school graduation Spitzbarth enrolled in Molloy College which is an independent, degree-granting college located in Rockville Centre, New York.

He had an outstanding 2014 season with the Molloy College Lions. Over 67 innings which included 10 starts he posted a 2.42 ERA along with 78 strikeouts. His strikeout total ranked fourth in the East Coast Conference.

At the conclusion of his college season he continued to play baseball with the Laconia Muskrats in the New England Collegiate Baseball League. The Muskrats reportedly counted heavily on the Molloy College junior to help keep the team competitive and the games close. Spitzbarth responded with a 1.93 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP over 46.2 innings while holding opponents to a .188 batting average against him. He struck out 50 and walked 15.

During his 2015 season with the Molloy College Lions his pitching stats were somewhat dazzling. He started in eight of his 10 appearances giving up only 41 hits in 61 innings pitched. He posted an ERA of 1.77 with 89 strikeouts while limiting the opposition to a .197 batting average against him. The 6’1”, 195 lb right-hander was rewarded with a wide variety of all-star recognition including the 2015 Daktronics All-East Region Second Team, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) All-East Region Honorable Mention Team and the All-East Coast Conference First Team.

Spitzbarth again chose to play summer collegiate ball following the completion of his 2015 season, this time with the Wareham Gateman of the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League. Matching up against some of the top college hitters in the country he posted a minuscule ERA of 0.71 over 12.2 innings while striking out 14.

His last appearance with the Gateman, in which he pitched a scoreless inning against the Harwich Mariners, was on July 6th. He credits the CCBL with helping to advance his career in a few short weeks: “They taught me so much in the short time I was there. It was unbelievable,” said Spitzbarth, whose average pitch is 93 miles per hour. He topped off at 94 MPH while at Molloy. “(I held my own in the CCBL), which is probably the No. 1 league in America. If you do well there, you just feel you can do anything.”

Shea Spitzbarth was not selected in the 2015 June Draft although he had worked out for the Dodgers at Felician College in Lodi, N.J., on May 29th. That work out most likely had raised his expectations of being drafted, especially by the Dodgers. Perhaps the Dodgers were waiting to see how he fared in the highly competitive Cape Cod Baseball League before extending any offer to him. On Monday, July 6th he finally got a bite in the form of a text message from the Dodgers asking him if he was still interested in signing a contract. His response was an immediate, “Yes.” He liked the offer made to him the very next day and accepted it now ready to get a taste of professional baseball.

Signing a contract was not only a dream come true for Spitzbarth but it was a truly emotional moment in his young life. “My hand was actually shaking when I went to sign my name,” laughed the 6-1, 195-pound Spitzbarth, who inked the dotted line at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Az. “I couldn’t ask for a better team than the Dodgers … they’re probably the most prestigious organization in all of baseball.”

“My hand was actually shaking when I went to sign my name.” – Shea Spitzbarth
(Photo courtesy of ECCSports.org)

In an interview with Charlie De Biase Jr., he outlined his plan for his progression through the Dodgers minor league system.

“I’m just going to learn as much as I can while I’m here,” said Spitzbarth. “It’s crazy … Jack McDowell is my manager. My dad (Thomas) says he remembers watching him pitch and he’s a nice, down to earth guy … I want to move up the organization slowly and learn as much as I can along the way.”

Spitzbarth’s first taste of professional baseball came in the seventh inning in a game that pitted the AZL Dodgers against the AZL Giants on July 17th. He entered the game with the Dodgers trailing 1-0 and in his scoreless inning of work he gave up no hits, walked one and struck out two. The Dodgers would ultimately lose the game 2-1 on a throwing error in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Working with AZL Dodgers manager Black Jack McDowell and pitching coach Greg Sabat, Shea Spitzbarth will now begin refining his four pitch repertoire which includes a 93 mph fastball, curve, slider and change up.

One of his biggest fans – Molley Head Baseball Coach Joe Fucarino – will be in his corner as he begins his climb up the Dodgers minor league ladder. “Shea’s hardwork and commitment to get to the next level is a credit to him and is great for our program,” Fucarino commented. “I wish him all the best and I’m excited to have another Molloy student-athlete continue his athletic career in professional baseball.”