Casey Harold Gillaspie (born January 25, 1993) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

who is a free agent. He played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

Wichita State Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

. He was drafted by the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

in the first round of the

2014 Major League Baseball draft The 2014 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June ...

, and traded to the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

in 2017.

Career

Amateur

Gillaspie attended

Millard North High School Millard North High School is a high school in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Millard Public Schools district. Millard North partially opened in 1978 for 9th and 10th grade students. In 1981, the second phase of the project was c ...

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

. As a senior, he was the Nebraska

Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys' baseball, boys' and girls' basketball, boys' and girls' cross country, boys' football, boys' ...

. As a freshman at

Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

in 2012, he started 57 of 59 games at either first base or

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

. He finished the year hitting .274 with eight home runs. After the 2012 season, Gillaspie played collegiate summer baseball in the

Northwoods League The Northwoods League is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league. All players in the league must have NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate. The league is amateur, and players are not paid, so as to maintain their college el ...

, for the

Eau Claire Express The Eau Claire Express is a collegiate summer baseball team playing in the Northwoods League. Their home games are played at Carson Park, in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. After two straight losing seasons in 2005 and 2006, the Eau Claire Express achiev ...

, where he broke the team single season HR record, with 12. He started all 66 games as a sophomore for WSU in 2013, hitting .299 with 11 home runs. In the summer of 2013, Gillaspie played with the

Falmouth Commodores The Falmouth Commodores are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Commodores play their home games at Arnie Alle ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League, where he was named a league all-star, and led the league in home runs with eight. As a junior in 2014, he hit .389/.520/.682 with 15 home runs in 59 games for WSU.

Tampa Bay Rays

The

selected Gillaspie in the first round, 20th overall, of the

2014 Major League Baseball Draft The 2014 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June ...

. He signed on June 10 and was assigned to the

Hudson Valley Renegades Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Henry Hudson, English explorer * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson R ...

, where he posted a .262

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

with seven home runs and 42 RBIs. Gillaspie began the 2015 season with the

Bowling Green Hot Rods The Bowling Green Hot Rods are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and play their home games at Bowling Green Ballpark, which open ...

, and after batting .278 with 16 home runs and 44 RBIs, was promoted to the

Charlotte Stone Crabs The Charlotte Stone Crabs were a Minor League Baseball team located in Port Charlotte, Florida, from 2009 to 2020. They competed in the Florida State League (FSL) as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball (MLB) ...

in June, where he finished the season, batting .146 with one home run in 13 games. In 2016, Gillaspie spent time with both the

Montgomery Biscuits The Montgomery Biscuits are a Minor League Baseball team based in Montgomery, Alabama. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and play in the Southern League. The team was founded in Orlando, Florida, in 1973 as the Orlando Twins ...

and the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

, posting a combined .284

with 18 home runs, 64 RBIs and an .866 OPS between the two clubs. He began 2017 with Durham.

Chicago White Sox

On July 27, 2017, the Rays traded Gillaspie to the

for Dan Jennings. The White Sox assigned him to the

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

. In 125 total games between Durham and Charlotte, he batted .223 with 15 home runs and 62 RBIs. The White Sox added him to their 40-man roster after the 2017 season. In April 2018, he was outrighted off the 40-man roster. He was released by the organization on March 24, 2019.

Kansas City T-Bones

On April 3, 2019, Gillaspie signed with the

Kansas City T-Bones The Kansas City Monarchs are a professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Kansas. Formerly known as the Kansas City T-Bones, they are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball; which, in 2020, became designated as a Majo ...

of the independent

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

. He became a free agent following the season.

Eastern Reyes del Tigre

In July 2020, Gillaspie signed on to play for the Eastern Reyes del Tigre of the

Constellation Energy League The Constellation Energy League was an independent baseball league that operated in Texas during 2020 because of COVID-19 restrictions limiting travel, and as a way to create opportunities for minor league players. History The league consisted of ...

(a makeshift four-team independent league created as a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

) for the 2020 season. He was subsequently named to the league's all-star team.

Kansas City Monarchs

On May 6, 2021, Gillaspie signed with the

Kansas City Monarchs The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball's Negro leagues. Operating in Kansas City, Missouri, and owned by J. L. Wilkinson, they were charter members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 19 ...

of the

American Association of Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

. He appeared in 98 games for the team in 2021, slashing .257/.357/.514 with 21 home runs and 70 RBI. In 2022, Gillaspie appeared in 94 contests for the Monarchs, batting .275/.387/.503 with 17 home runs and 66 RBI.

Sioux City Explorers

On January 20, 2023, Gillaspie was claimed off waivers by the Sioux City Explorers of the

. He was released by the team on April 18.

Personal life

Gillaspie's brother,

Conor Conor is a male given name of Irish origin. The meaning of the name is "Lover of Wolves" or "Lover of Hounds". '' Conchobhar/Conchubhar'' or from the name ''Conaire'', found in Irish legend as the name of the high king Conaire Mór and other hero ...

, also played college baseball at Wichita State and is currently a free agent.

References

External links

Wichita State Shockers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gillaspie, Casey 1993 births Living people All-American college baseball players Baseball players from Nebraska Wichita State Shockers baseball players Falmouth Commodores players Hudson Valley Renegades players Bowling Green Hot Rods players Charlotte Stone Crabs players Gulf Coast Rays players Mesa Solar Sox players Montgomery Biscuits players Durham Bulls players Charlotte Knights players Kansas City T-Bones players Eastern Reyes del Tigre players Sugar Land Skeeters players Kansas City Monarchs (American Association) players