Joey Wendle, a second baseman for the Oakland Athletics, was a minor leaguer for the Cleveland Indians from 2012 to 2014. His signing bonus was $10,000 and he was selected by Cleveland in the 6th round of the 2012 amateur draft.
It was a great year for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, who had Wendle bat a career-high 327/375/469 with 80 hits in 2012.
In 107 games for the Carolina Mudcats in 2013, he batted .295/.372/.513 with 16 home runs, 64 RBI, and 10 stolen bases, earning him selection to the Carolina League Post-Season All-Star team and a spot on the MiLB.com Organization All-Star team. Akron (Double-A) was his first stop in 2014.
He appeared in 87 games for the team, and also had a brief run with the AZL Indians as a rehabilitation player. While at Akron, the outfielder batted in 46 runs and had 50 hits in .253/.311/.414.
When the Oakland Athletics dealt Wendle to the A’s for Brandon Moss on December 8, 2014, he was an accomplished major leaguer.
In 137 games with the Nashville Sounds of the Pacific Coast League in 2015, he slugged .289 with 42 doubles, eight triples, and ten home runs; he racked up 80 runs and drove in 57 as the team’s regular second baseman.
For the second year in a row despite his outstanding performance in 2015, he was retained by Nashville for the 2016 campaign.
After hitting .279 with 31 doubles, nine triples, and 12 home runs in 125 games this season, he maintained his excellent form.
He racked up 81 hits and 61 runs batted in. On August 31st, he made his major league debut as a starting second baseman for Oakland against the Houston Astros.
Oakland fell 3-4, but he still managed to hit .260 in 28 games with the A’s.
In 2017, he did more of the same, spending the majority of the year in the minors with Nashville, where he hit .285 with eight home runs and 54 RBIs in 118 games, and only making an appearance in eight games for Oakland, when he went 4 for 13.
Where Did Joey Wendle Grow Up?
Joey Wendle grew up in Wilmington, Delaware.