The first time I saw Liam Spence, I did a double take. He’s listed at 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds. But when you see him it’s more like 6-foot-1 and 165 or 170 pounds. But when you start looking at his stats, he’s got a nice track record of success against excellent competition. After signing, he was eventually assigned to South Bend but played sparingly.
Basic Information
From – Geelong, Australia
School – University of Tennessee
Age – 23
Position – SS
Height – 6-foot-1
Weight – 190
Throws – Right
Likely ETA – Right
Prospects Live said the following about Spence:
“Spence is an accomplished collegiate hitter with a career average well over .300 and he’s begun tapping into some power in 2021 as well. Spence will be fairly old for his class, 23 at the time of the draft. He won’t have much leverage, but could be an attractive under-slot option for teams to save some money in an attempt to land higher-profile preps elsewhere.”
My thoughts on Draft Day – This is the Cubs first senior sign. Probably gonna bank some cash here for later, but Spence can hit for sure. Great OBP skills. I think he reminds me of Bradlee Beesley but as a shortstop.
The Cubs gave Spence an aggressive assignment based on two things, his age and his track record at Tennessee.
An interesting thing about Spencer is he was actually born in Australia and came to the United States to play high school baseball. His brother Josh is a pitcher in the Padres’ system after playing at Arizona State.
Liam began his college career at Central Arizona Junior College and was part of a national championship team in 2019. He had an amazing freshman campaign where he hit .391 and drove in 33 along with swiping 17 bases. As a sophomore he hit .326 with six home runs and 38 RBI. Those two seasons were good enough to draw the attention of the University of Tennessee.
In 2020, Spencer only played in 16 games due to the pandemic but hit .346 with one home run and 12 RBI in just 16 games. This spring as a senior, Spence hit .338 with five home runs and an amazing on base percentage of .472.
When it comes to next season it’s unclear where Spence will begin his first full season as a pro. With the waves of shortstops coming up, he’s going to have to swim or sink fast. He’s going to have to hit the ground and takeoff as a hitter next year. Whether he can produce like he did in college is going to be something we’re just going to have to wait and see.
Cubs Central 