Jared Goedert
From BR Bullpen
Jared Paul Goedert
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 1", Weight 180 lb.
- School Cloud County Community College and Kansas State University
- High School Concordia High School
- Born May 25, 1985 in Concordia, KS
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[edit] Family
Jared Goedert's father, Joe Goedert, also played baseball for Cloud County Community College and Kansas State University. He still holds the Cloud record for a single season batting average with .510 in 1979. In 1980, Joe had a down year with the T-Birds and only hit .474 for the season. In 2008, Joe was inducted into the Cloud County Community College Athletic Hall of Fame.
While with Kansas State, Joe established career and single season school records in total fielding chances and putouts; career school records in batting average and walks; and single season school records in extra-base hits and doubles. All these records have been eclipsed by later players, but he still ranks very high in all these categories in Kansas State's record book.
Jared is the oldest of Joe and Janell Goedert's four sons. The other boys are named Keaton, Corbin, and Connor. The family's last name is pronounced "GED-ert".
[edit] High School Athletic Career (2000-2003)
Goedert was a starter all four years at Concordia High School in Concordia, Kansas. In three of those years, he was selected to the all-league team, and twice he achieved all-state honors. During his senior year, Goedert hit .538 with 11 home runs and was named the team MVP. He holds the single season walks record for the school. The Cleveland Indians chose Goedert as their pick in the 36th round (1068th overall) of the 2003 draft.
Goedert was also a quarterback on his high school football team and led the state of Kansas in passing yards when he was still a junior. During his senior year, he was chosen for the all-state team.
Jared was also a standout in basketball and was named to the all-state basketball team. His 19.50 points per game average was tops in the league, and his average of 2.65 steals per game was good enough for second among the league leaders.
[edit] Collegiate Career (2004-2006)
Rather than sign with the Indians, Goedert opted to play college ball in 2004. As his father did before him, Jared began his collegiate career at Cloud County Community College in his hometown of Concordia. He hit .431 with a single season school record of 77 hits while striking out only 13 times in 178 at-bats. He also tied the record for games played in a season with 56. For his efforts, he received all-conference and all-region honors and was named as an All-America honorable mention while also making the Academic All-American team.
Goedert transferred to Kansas State University for the 2005 season. He played both first and second base as a Wildcat and completed the campaign with a .341 batting average, .423 OBP, and a .492 slugging percentage.
Goedert spent the summer of 2005 as a member of the Hays Larks in the collegiate Jayhawk League. While there, Jared had a .482 OBP and a .633 slugging percentage with 19 doubles, 52 RBI, and 54 runs scored. He was named a First Team Summer All-American by Baseball America.
2006 saw Jared improve both his on-base (.466) and slugging percentages (.609) significantly while hitting at a .337 pace. He tripled his home run output from four to twelve and also stole six bases along the way. Three of Jared's homers came during a single game against South Dakota State University on May 16. While with Kansas, Goedert earned a reputation for playing through pain as he endured a broken nose twice while there as well as a torn tendon in his index finger.
At the time that he left school, Goedert was majoring in finance.
[edit] Minor Leagues (2006-Present)
Cleveland was still impressed with Goedert. In the 2006 amateur draft, they selected him in the ninth round (281st overall). He decided to accept Cleveland's offer of a $70,000 signing bonus and left school early. That summer, Jared jumped into the Indians' farm system with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers and got his professional feet wet with a .269 batting average in 63 games. In the fall, he had labrum surgery performed.
The Lake County Captains welcomed Goedert in 2007. Jared hit at a .364 pace in 46 games with 16 home runs and 51 RBI. This earned him a promotion up to the High-A Kinston Indians. In one of his last games for Lake County, Jared reaggravated his surgically repaired shoulder on a diving play, and this caused a month-long layoff and reduced production (.256 BA, 4 HR) in the 35 games he had in the Carolina League. For the year, Goedert led the entire Indians minor league system in both walk percentage (16.4% of plate appearances) and on-base percentage (.430).
Goedert has been with Kinston since the start of the 2008 season. Mostly batting cleanup, Jared has led the KTribe hitters in hits, RBI, and batting average. The hitting coach for Kinston, Jon Nunnally, considers Goedert a "doubles guy with power." Scouts consider fielding to be the one area that Goedert needs the most work in. He currently has a .955 fielding percentage while playing over 120 games at third and nearly fifty at second. He has also been used as a DH in a handful of games. To relax before games, Jared prefers reading to the usual music and cards.
[edit] Further Reading
- Glasier, David S.: "Goedert Going At Great Pace", The News-Herald, May 18, 2007 [1]
- Hall, David: "Studious, Steady Goedert Quietly Succeeding", Kinston Free Press, May 18, 2008[2]
