Jeff Kobernus

Jeffrey Gilbert Kobernus

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 210 lb.
• School University of California, Berkeley
• High School Bishop O'Dowd High School
• Debut May 25, 2013
• Final Game September 28, 2014
• Born June 30, 1988 in San Leandro, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Jeff Kobernus is an infielder who made his major league debut in 2013; his father Jeff Kobernus Sr. also played professionally.

Amateur Career

Kobernus hit .423 as a high school junior and .415 overall in high school. He batted .331/.370/.387 and was 9th in the Pacific-10 Conference with 13 steals as a college freshman. Collegiate Baseball named him a Freshman All-American. He followed with a .303/.347/.417 sophomore season. He hit .263 for the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod League that summer. As a junior for Berkeley, he batted .341/.385/.544 with 43 runs, 40 RBI and 20 steals in 53 games. He was 7th in the Pac-10 in hits and third in steals (after Jason Kipnis and Drew Maggi. He made the All-Conference infield.

Nationals system

Kobernus was picked by the Washington Nationals in the second round of the 2009 amateur draft, the 50th overall pick; he was Washington's third pick, following Stephen Strasburg and Drew Storen. He made his pro debut with the Vermont Lake Monsters, hitting .220/.273/.244 in 10 games before missing most of the season with a knee injury. Baseball America named him Washington's #7 prospect entering 2010, between Chris Marrero and Justin Maxwell.

With the 2010 Hagerstown Suns, Jeff batted .279/.316/.346, with two stints on the disabled list, including a second one for his left knee. In '11, he put up a batting line of .282/.313/.387 for the Potomac Nationals and stole 53 bases while only being caught eight times. He was 1 for 14 in the playoffs. For the year, he tied for third in the Carolina League in hits (138, behind Andrelton Simmons and Ian Gac), was 6th in average (between Eury Pérez and Jared Prince) and led in steals (8 ahead of Perez). He was named the league's All-Star 2B, joining Joey Terdoslavich, Simmons and Mike Olt as the selected infielders.

Kobernus missed about two months of 2012 with injuries, this time to his right thumb and to his rib cage. He hit .282/.325/.333 with 42 steals in 53 tries when healthy for the Hagerstown Suns. Despite his limited action, he led the Eastern League in stolen bases, 9 ahead of Gary Brown.

The Boston Red Sox took him 7th of the 2012 Rule V Draft, the third position player chosen (after Chris McGuiness and Alfredo Silverio). Boston turned around and dealt him to the Detroit Tigers for Justin Henry. Detroit didn't retain him, returning him to Washington. He began 2013 very well for the Syracuse Chiefs, hitting .333/.378/.420 with 21 steals in 27 tries and 33 runs in 43 games. He was second in the International League in both steals (four behind Billy Hamilton) and runs (3 behind Anthony Gose. He was then called up with Danny Espinosa battling a wrist problem.

In his MLB debut, Jeff pinch-ran for Tyler Moore and did not score. He remained in the game in left field for the 9th inning and caught a fly from Ben Revere.

Sources

• 2013 Tigers Media Guide
• 2012 Nationals Media Guide
• California bio
• The Baseball Cube

Related Sites

• Jeff Kobernus on mlb.com
• BR Minors page