David Kandilas

David Kandilas (The Kandi Man)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 185 lb.

• Born September 14, 1990 in Sydney, New South Wales Australia

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

David Kandilas has played as high as AAA.

Kandilas signed with the Colorado Rockies in April 2008. He hit .370/.414/.463 for New South Wales in the 2009 Claxton Shield, his debut in that event. The teenager was 4th in the tournament in average (leading his team), 4th in hits (20) and tied for the steal lead (with 3). He had a rough pro debut with the Casper Rockies, hitting .205/.276/.269 that summer. Despite being a backup outfielder, he did have six assists. Back with New South Wales for the 2009-2010 Claxton Shield, he fell to .206/.257/.279, the lowest average on his team. He did go 5-for-5 in steal attempts, tying him for 7th in the event in that category. Returning to Casper for the summer of 2010, he improved to .262/.292/.383.

In the 2010-2011 Australian Baseball League, David batted .274/.398/.321 for his hometown Sydney Blue Sox. He was 10th in the league in OBP. In his third year with Casper, he showed big strides, hitting .327/.398/.548 with 15 steals in 21 tries, 10 triples and 51 runs in 61 games as the club's starting center fielder. On June 24, he hit for the cycle, the first Pioneer League cycle in 4 years. No Rockies minor leaguer had performed the feat since Joe Koshansky three years prior. He led the PL in triples and was the league's hardest batter to fan (6.43 plate appearances per strikeout) while placing 7th in average. He tied for 9th in hits (81), tied for 6th in runs and tied for 9th in steals (15 SB, 6 CS).

Kandilas joined the Australian national team for the 2011 Baseball World Cup. He was Australia's second-youngest player, after Todd Van Steensel. He backed up Mitch Dening in center field and pinch-ran and pinch-hit on occasion. He was just 1 for 11 with a walk in the event, stealing two bases and scoring three runs. He had 5 putouts in the field. In the 5th/6th place game (which Australia won over South Korea to lock up their best Baseball World Cup finish), he pinch-ran for Justin Huber in the 8th inning but was thrown out stealing by Jae-hoon Choi.

For Sydney in 2011-2012, Kandilas hit .250/.375/.413 with 15 runs and 16 walks in 16 games. For a guy noted for his speed, he was unsuccessful, being gunned down on both steal attempts that winter. He did hit for the cycle against the Melbourne Aces on December 30, giving him a rare 2 cycles for the year. The cycle marked 3 of his 4 extra-base hits for the 2011-2012 Blue Sox. With the Asheville Tourists that summer, he hit .266/.360/.403 and stole 19 bases in 22 tries. He batted .282/.351/.376 for the Blue Sox in 2012-2013.

He was 0 for 1 for Australia in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, grounding out against Seung-hwan Oh of South Korea. In 2013, he hit .265/.349/.354 and went 24-for-29 in steals for the Modesto Nuts. He was 6th in the Rockies chain in swipes. He split 2014 between the Nuts (.272/.360/.398 in 68 G), Tulsa Drillers (.194/.237/.417 in 21 G) and Colorado Springs Sky Sox (1 for 9). He produced at a .297/.323/.423 clip for Sydney in the 2014-2015 ABL.

A free agent, he signed with the Niigata Albirex of the Baseball Challenge League, a Japanese independent league, joining fellow Australian outfielder Dening there; he had knee surgery late in the year and saw limited action for Sydney in 2015-2016 (3 for 20, 4 BB). He was a backup flyhawk for Australia in the 2017 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers in February 2016 in his hometown, backing up Trent Oeltjen in right. He pinch-hit for Oeltjen in the opener against the Philippines and drew a walk from Leslie Cabiling. In game 2, he got a start against South Africa. He was 0 for 2 with two walks and a run, scoring the final run in a 4-1 win; he drew a Dean Jacobs walk in the 6th, advanced on a single and a wild pitch and scored on a James Beresford grounder. In the finale, also against South Africa, with a spot in the 2017 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers on the line, he was a late substitute for Luke Hughes in left in a 12-5 win.

He coached for Australia in the 2017 U-18 Baseball World Cup.

Sources

• 2011 Baseball World Cup Final Report
• 2012 Rockies Media Guide
• Australian Baseball League
• Australian Baseball Federation
• World Baseball Classic