Josh Spence

Joshua Patrick William Spence
(Spencie, The Mate)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 2", Weight 190 lb.
• School Central Arizona College, Arizona State University
• High School St. Joseph's College Geelong
• Debut June 24, 2011
• Last Game May 11, 2012
• Born January 22, 1988 in Grovedale, Victoria Australia

BR page

Biographical information

Josh Spence made his pro debut in 2010 and reached the majors with the San Diego Padres in 2011.

Spence pitched for Australia in the 2006 World Junior Championship and then came to the USA for junior college. In 2007, he was 13-3 with two saves and a 1.10 ERA for Central Arizona College and was named an All-American and Arizona Community College Athletic Conference Player of the Year. As a sophomore, he went 14-4 with 7 saves and a 1.69 ERA, again being named All-American and his Conference's Player of the Year. His team finished third at the 2008 NJCAA Division I Baseball World Series. The Arizona Diamondbacks took him in the 25th round of the 2008 amateur draft but he did not sign.

In 2009, Spence moved on to Arizona State University and went 10-1 with a 2.37 ERA in 18 games as a junior, striking out 125 batters in 102 2/3 innings of work despite missing over a month due to injury. He was named third-team All-American and first-team All-Pacific-10 Conference. In the 2009 College World Series, he fanned 16 in 14 innings including a win over the University of North Carolina. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the third round of the 2009 amateur draft and offered a $240,000 bonus but he opted to return for his senior year to complete his degrees in sociology and education. He did not pitch in college in 2010 and was picked by the Padres in the ninth round of the 2010 amateur draft. He was signed by scout Dave Lottsfeldt for a $100,000 bonus.

Spence began his pro career with the Eugene Emeralds and allowed one run in 6 innings before moving up the ranks. Overall, he went 2-2 with a 3.00 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 24 innings split between three clubs in his first pro season. After starting 2011 with a 3-1 record and a 1.71 ERA in 35 relief appearances for the San Antonio Missions, he was called up by the Padres. He made his big league debut against the Atlanta Braves on June 24th, throwing a scorelless inning of relief.

Spence joined the coaching ranks as the rehab pitching coach for the San Diego Padres organization in 2016 and pitching coach for the Tri-City Dust Devils in 2017. He was then the pitching coach for the Adelaide Giants in the Australian Baseball League from 2019/2020 through 2021/2022. Spence moved to the Milwaukee Brewers' organization as pitching coach of the ACL Brewers Blue in 2022. He started 2023 as the Biloxi Shuckers bullpen coach. However, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers pitching coach Drew Thomas accepted a college coaching position in mid-June and Spence took over his duties on June 20th and remained with the Rattlers through the end of the season. He returned to Wisconsin in 2024.

Spence's brother, Nic played at Central Arizona and University of Cincinnati and in the Australian Baseball League. Another brother, Liam Spence, also played at Central Arizona and then played for University of Tennessee in the 2021 College World Series.

Related Sites

• Josh Spence on mlb.com
• Arizona State bio