Countdown to Spring Training - 23 Days
Arencibia was drafted out of high school in the 17th round by the Seattle Mariners in 2004. Instead of signing, he opted to honor his commitment to the University of Tennessee, where he finished his career with an impressive .333 batting average. In addition to his solid batting average he also collected a total of 33 home runs, a .552 slugging percentage and an OBP of .413.
It was clear in the 2007 amateur draft that Toronto saw the potential Arencibia possessed when they drafted him in the first round (21st overall). Thus far in his career, he has not disappointed. He spent a total of four seasons in the minor leagues starting with the previous Short Season Single-A team the Auburn Doubledays.
He started the 2008 season with the Dunedin Blue Jays, and by the All Star break he was near the top of the league in a number of offensive categories. He finished the first half of the season batting .315, with 13 home runs, 22 doubles and 62 RBIs. After the All Star break he was promoted the Double-A affiliate the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. He spent the 2009 season in Triple-A with the Las Vegas 51s, and he returned to Las Vegas in 2010 where he went on to win the Pacific Coast League MVP award.
On August 7, 2010 he made his Major League debut against the Tampa Bay Rays. Arencibia became the 28th player in history to hit a home run on the first pitch he saw in the Major Leagues. In that same game he hit another home run making him the fifth player in baseball history to hit two home runs in his debut. He also became the first Blue Jay to have four hits in their debut.
Arencibia proved that he was not a one season wonder, putting together another impressive season in 2011. Just like his Major League debut, in the first game of this past year he hit his first home run of the season and finished with two home runs and a triple. On June 3, 2011 he hit his first career grand slam against the Baltimore Orioles in a game Toronto went on to win 8-4.
By the end of the 2011 season, Arencibia had amassed 23 home runs, topping John Buck's 20 for the most by a catcher in Toronto Blue Jays franchise history. He also blew away the record for home runs by a rookie catcher as the previous record held by Pat Borders and Greg Myers was five.
It's clear after his monster 2011 season that Arencibia is a player to watch. With 23 days left until Spring Training, it'll only be a few short weeks before we see him launching bombs out of Florida Auto Exchange Stadium.
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