Mark Kiger

Organization Prospect Rankings

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  Ranked Athletics #24 prospect in 2004
  Kiger has instincts and work ethic similar to David Eckstein and Mark Ellis, who preceded him as shortstops at the University of Florida. He also may have more pure talent than those two. Kiger had a 44-game hitting streak and hit .497 to win the California community college batting title as a Grossmont CC freshman, and he batted .403 as a Gators senior. Thus the A's were surprised when he didn't do much offensively in his pro debut, but Kiger shortened his stroke in instructional league and fared much better last year. He led Oakland minor leaguers in pitches seen while showing a propensity for drawing walks and hitting for gap power. He does need to cut down on his strikeouts, however. Kiger split time between second base and shortstop in 2003 and is better suited for the former. He's can play short adequately but doesn't quite have the arm for the position. His decent range and exceptional hands play well at second base. Kiger has a great chance of progressing as a utilityman, and the A's have a history of turning their utility players into regulars. He'll start in the middle infield at Double-A in 2004.