Mike Kvasnicka

Michael J. Kvasnicka

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 210 lb.
• School University of Minnesota
• High School Lakeville North High School

• Born December 7, 1988 in Lakeville, MN USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Mike Kvasnicka was a supplemental first-round draft pick in the 2010 amateur draft.

Kvasnicka was two-time All-Conference in both football and hockey in high school and was twice All-State in baseball after hitting .400+ and slugging .800+ his last two years in high school. He was named Minnesota State High School Player of the Year in 2007. He was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 31st round of the 2007 amateur draft, but chose to go to college instead.

Michael hit .238/.289/.365 as a college freshman at the University of Minnesota in 2008. His sophomore season, he improved to .341/.445/.438 and was third in the Big Ten Conference with 65 RBI in 59 games. His junior season, he was better yet at .355/.459/.571 and made second team All-Big Ten. He led the Big Ten with 25 doubles and 46 walks.

The Houston Astros took Kvasnicka 33rd overall in 2010, the first of the supplemental first round picks that year; the pick was compensation for the loss of Jose Valverde to free agency. He was signed by scout Troy Hoerner and made his pro debut that summer. Kvasnicka struggled in his first 11 games as a pro, hitting only .121/.311/.242, with 10 walks being the lone bright side. He had two errors as a RF-3B to four hits. He ended the year hitting .234/.305/.337 in 68 games. With the Lexington Legends of the South Atlantic League in 2011, he improved to .260/.328/.368 in 128 games. He hit 32 doubles and scored and drove in 59 runs. He played mostly third base that year, but was plagued by defensive issues, fielding .902 with 31 errors. The Astros had him repeat the level in 2012, while splitting time between right field and catcher, but he regressed significantly, falling to .232/.275/.412 in 88 games. The one bright spot was that he found some home run power, going from 4 in 2011 to 15, but every other aspect of his production fell back.

Mike moved to the Twins organization in 2013 and played in the Florida State League with the Fort Myers Miracle. Used in right field, he bounced back with a nice year, hitting .282/.341/.460 in 69 games, putting himself back on the radar even though he was old for the circuit. He managed to maintain his home run power, hitting 9 dingers in 248 at-bats. In 2014, he was promoted to the AA New Britain Rock Cats of the Eastern League where he was again a starter in the outfield. He was having himself a nice season, playing in all three outfield spots, when he made the news around baseball for an unfortunate play, when on August 13th he collided with the team's top prospect, CF Byron Buxton, in Buxton's first game in AA. The collision was particularly violent, as Buxton lay unconscious in the outfield for ten minutes before being carted off in an ambulance; he suffered no broken bones, but the Twins decided to end his season because of the concussion, while for his part Kvasnicka suffered no injury at all.

Kvasnicka's father, Jay Kvasnicka, played in the minors from 1989 to 1992.

Related Sites

• University of Minnesota bio