Wade Kirkland

Wade Kirkland

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 197 lb.
• School Florida Southern College
• High School McKeel Academy of Technology

• Born April 4, 1989 in Lakeland, FL USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Infielder Wade Kirkland played in the Oakland Athletics organization from 2010 to 2016, peaking in AAA. He was drafted in the 11th round of the 2010 amateur draft and began his career that same year with the Vancouver Canadians of the Northwest League, batting .271 in 78 games. He was unable to match that decent batting average over the following seasons, however, with a high of .238 between 2012 and 2014. His OBP was also quite low, as he only topped .300 once in 7 seasons. But he was a good defensive infielder who was equally at ease at second base, third base and shortstop, and could also play other positions in a pinch. His AAA stint came in 2014 and consisted of 3 games with the Sacramento RiverCats of the Pacific Coast League. He did play two full season in AA, with the Midland RockHounds of the Texas League, in 2015 and 2016.

He was sometimes used as a pitcher in emergencies throughout his career, with a total of 10 games on the mound. His most memorable minor league game came as a pitcher on May 21, 2013, with the Stockton Ports of the California League, against the Lake Elsinore Storm. That day's game was a slugfest, and he found himself pitching in the late innings, and gave Stockton an 11-9 win with a walk-off homer as a pitcher. In that game, teammate Dusty Robinson set a record by striking out seven times in eight appearances, apparently unaware that everyone else was belting the ball all over the yard. The win he earned that day was the only one of his career, and overall went 1-1, 8.68 as a pitcher.