Kellen Kulbacki
From BR Bullpen
Kellen R. Kulbacki
- Bats Left, Throws Left
- Height 5' 11", Weight 185 lb.
- School James Madison University
- High School Hershey High School
- Born November 21, 1985 in Harrisonburg, VA USA
Kellen Kulbacki was a first-round pick of the San Diego Padres in the 2007 draft. Kulbacki is the grandson of Bob Bettleyon, who played for the Cordele A's in 1951.
Kulbacki hit .379 as a high school junior and .493/.549/.944 as a senior.
In his freshman year at James Madison, Kulbacki batted .343/.393/.552. As a sophomore in 2006, the left-handed outfielder hit .464/.568/.943 with 24 homers, 68 runs and 75 RBI in 53 games. He was second in NCAA Division I in average behind Mike Goetz, led in slugging by 96 points over Marcus Davis and Shawn Scobee, was second to Goetz in OBP, led in home runs and tied two others for 7th in RBI. He was a consensus first-team All-American. He won the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year Award and was an obvious choice for the All-Conference team in the outfield. He split the Collegiate Baseball Player of the Year award with Wes Roemer.
Kulbacki hit .240/.314/.420 for the Cotuit Kettleers that summer. Baseball America did not rate him as one of the top 30 prospects in the Cape Cod League, though he did tie for 4th with 7 HR.
In 2007, Kellen batted .398/.538/.785 with 56 runs, 56 walks and 19 homers in 53 games. The San Diego Padres took him with the 40th pick in the first round of the 2007 amateur draft, and he made his pro debut that summer with the Eugene Emeralds, going 0 for 3 with a strikeout in his first game on June 25.
Sources: Cape Cod League site, James Madison bio, The Baseball Cube, 2006-2007 Baseball Almanacs
