Arizona baseball: Scott Kingery named USA Baseball Golden Spikes semifinalist

Scott Kingery getting his dues nationally

USA Baseball announced their 21-player Golden Spikes Award semifinalist list on Friday, and Arizona Wildcats second baseman Scott Kingery finds himself on the list.

Kingery is the only Arizona player, and is one of just three players from the Pac-12 to receiver the honor. UCLA closer David Berg and Oregon State starting pitcher Andrew Moore are the others.

The junior second baseman is hitting .396 this season overall, and finished Pac-12 play hitting .373 in conference games, which will likely give him the Pac-12 batting title.

The surprising thing about Kingery has been his power. He's currently second in the conference in slugging percentage, trailing only Bobby Dalbec. His five triples lead the team, and his five home runs are second behind Dalbec's 14. He also currently leads the Pac-12 in total bases.

The other thing that makes this season somewhat surprising is that this is his first year playing the infield at the college level. He was the starting center fielder in 2013 and 2014, then with the departure of Trent Gilbert, moved in to play second base this season. He currently has the best fielding percentage among non-first-baseman infielders on the team.

Kingery will likely be a high draft pick in this year's MLB Draft, so if you haven't seen him yet this season, be sure to hit up Hi Corbett sometime this weekend to get your last glimpse in.

The Golden Spikes finalists will be announced on June 2nd.

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