J.P. Arencibia
From BR Bullpen
Jonathan Paul Arencibia
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 1", Weight 195 lb.
- School University of Tennessee
- High School Westminster Christian High School (Palmetto Bay)
J.P. Arencibia was a first-round draft pick in the 2007 amateur draft.
Arencibia hit .440 with 10 homers as a high school junior. He batted .500 as a senior with 7 homers. His 17 home runs tied the school record, held by Alex Rodriguez. The Seattle Mariners took him in the 17th round of the 2004 amateur draft; he opted for college instead.
In 2005, J.P. hit .322/.379/.534. He won the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year Award, beating out future #1 overall draft pick David Price. Baseball America was one of two sources to list him as a first-team Freshman All-American. His 71 RBI tied him for 23rd in NCAA Division I. He then starred for the USA college national team. One of only five freshmen on the team, he batted .404/?/.579 to lead in average and slugging. His 12 RBI tied Matt LaPorta and Shane Robinson for the club lead.
Arencibia produced at a .352/.419/.583 clip as a sophomore. He made the SEC All-Conference team at catcher. He again starred for the USA college team, hitting .302/?/.655 with 37 RBI, second to Pedro Alvarez. He led the club with 9 homers. He won MVP honors in the 2006 World University Championship, hitting .412/?/.618 with 4 HR and 23 RBI, the latter two both leading the tourney. The Cuban-American starred in the country of his parent's birth, as the tournament took place in Cuba.
He hit .330/.450/.545 as a junior and was second-team All-SEC at catcher. Overall, he had batted .333/.413/.552 in his college career.
The Toronto Blue Jays picked Arencibia with the 21st selection of the 2007 amateur draft. Assigned to the Auburn Doubledays, he debuted against the Batavia Muckdogs on June 20 and went 1 for 3.
Sources: CSTV.com bio, 2005-2007 Baseball Almanacs
