The Future Stars Series family got a big jolt of excitement when Joey Spence went off the board in the 18th round to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2021 MLB Draft on Tuesday afternoon.
Arizona found incredible value in Spence, who has long been an FSS favorite for his big personality off the field and willingness to learn on it.
Spence had a monster 2020 National Combine, reaching base in seven of his eight plate appearances, which earned him an invitation to International Week later that year as a member of the National Team.
Spence had an equally strong showing at Fenway, smacking a two-run single in Boston over the course of the event.
He also just attended the Pre-Draft High School Combine, where he shined behind the dish in front of a large crowd of scouts.
“Grinder, and I’m surprised he went as late as he did,” said Jeremy Booth, CEO and president of the Future Stars Series. “I thought he’d go much earlier in the draft, (rounds) 5-10. Not sure what happened, sometimes guys get pushed down, you never know. I’ve been in that position many times and sat in the (draft) room where you think you’re going to get a guy in the fifth round, and all of a sudden you don’t take him until the 25th. It’s a testament to him that he did get taken. He’s a producer. He’s a guy that’s going to catch and throw, he’s going to hit. He’s a bunch of average major-league tools that’ll play across the board. But he’ll get there. Whether he wants to go to Notre Dame or not is up to him, but he’ll get there.”
