Cody Asche
Cody James Asche is an American former professional baseball player—as third baseman and left fielder—and coach who currently serves as the assistant hitting coach for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball. He played in MLB for the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago White Sox.
After growing up in O'Fallon, Missouri, Asche attended the University of Nebraska, where he played college baseball for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, majored in economics, and achieved recognition for both his athletic and academic performance.
His pro baseball career began when Asche was chosen as the fourth round selection of the Phillies in the 2011 draft. He quickly progressed through the minor league system, briefly dabbling at second base before predominantly sticking to third base and left field. At both positions, minor league scouts regarded his defensive ability as sub-optimal. His career with the Phillies ended in 2016, and he played one additional season in the Chicago White Sox organization before bouncing around several minor league organizations. Since 2022, he has worked as a coach with the Baltimore Orioles organization.
Early life
Asche was born on June 30, 1990, in St. Charles, Missouri, to Todd and Julie Asche; he has a brother named Tyler. He grew up playing baseball, which he started playing with his father and brother in the yard around age five, and football, but he quit playing football in his freshman year of high school. He attended Fort Zumwalt West High School in O'Fallon, Missouri. Playing for the school's baseball team, he had a.425 batting average across his career and batted.512 in his senior season. He then enrolled at the University of Nebraska, where he played college baseball for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. In 2011, Asche's junior year, he had a.327 batting average. His 12 home runs led the Big 12 Conference, while his 56 runs batted in placed him second in the conference. He was named a second-team All-American. While at Nebraska, he majored in economics and maintained a grade point average of 3.407. Because of his strong grades, he earned placement on the Big 12 Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll, a distinction bestowed upon student-athletes that achieve a GPA of 3.0 or greater, for five of his college semesters.Professional career
Philadelphia Phillies
Minor leagues
The Phillies drafted Asche in the fourth round, with the 151st overall selection, of the 2011 MLB draft. In 2011, the Phillies moved him to second base for his professional debut the Williamsport Crosscutters of the Low–A New York–Penn League. He struggled there, posting a batting average of just.192. After the season, he was moved back to third base. In 2012, he hit.349 with the Clearwater Threshers of the High–A Florida State League, and was promoted to the Reading Phillies of the Double–A Eastern League, where he batted.300. Using his combined stats from all levels during the 2012 season, he led all Phillies minor leaguers with a.324 batting average, and 168 hits; his efforts earned him two Phillies Minor League Player of the Week selections, and a Minor League Player of the Month selection in May. The Phillies assigned Asche to the Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League after the season for further development, and he played in the league's all-star game and led the league in doubles with 11.Keith Law, a minor league talent evaluator for ESPN, derided Asche as a prospect both offensively and defensively, noting that he likely would not be much of a power hitter and was a questionable defender. Nevertheless, Baseball America rated Asche as the Phillies' seventh-best prospect after the 2012 season. After the 2012 season, another analyst wrote that Asche had an "average" body for a baseball player, commented that while he had limited power potential, he could be a solid contact hitter because of quick hands and "incredibly sound" hitting mechanics, but was a "terrible" defender with a "fringy arm". Subsequently, however, he improved defensively to become "passable". In 2013, Asche played for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs of the Triple–A International League. He was named to the IL team in the Triple-A All-Star Game. After batting.295 with 15 home runs and 68 RBIs for Lehigh Valley, and being named their Player of the Month for July, the Phillies promoted Asche to the major leagues on July 30. One writer found it "mildly surprising" that the Phillies called up Asche rather than Maikel Franco, a fellow third base prospect who most thought had far more potential than Asche.
Major leagues
2013
Although Asche was a non-roster invitee to major league spring training, the Phillies called up Asche to give him "an extended look" at the third base position, particularly in comparison to Franco. On July 30, 2013, Asche was called up by the Phillies, who quickly installed him as the team's starting third baseman. Upon his call-up, some scouts and coaches compared him to Chase Utley, particularly his demeanor. Asche hoped to emulate Utley, noting, "I can only hope someday I can be compared to that guy." As a hitter, he is better as a contact hitter than a power hitter; defensively, he made improvements, which brought him accolades from then-Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg.On August 8, Asche went 3-for-5 with a double, a home run and two RBI. He had a two-run home run to right field in the fourth inning to give the Phillies a nine-run lead. It was the first home run of his big league career. On September 6, 2013, Asche hit a game-winning two-run homer to lead the Phillies over the first-place Atlanta Braves. Asche concluded the 2013 season with a.235 batting average, 5 home runs, and 22 RBI at the major league level.
2014
Entering the 2014 season, most writers thought he had earned the starting third baseman's job. Bill Baer, a writer for ESPN, NBC Sports, and Baseball Prospectus, noted that not only had Asche earned a starting spot, but that his 2013 success helped the development of the team at large. He explained, Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg also called Asche the leading candidate for the job, noting that he would be the Phillies first homegrown third baseman since Scott Rolen. Most were optimistic on Asche's development, though noted he is another left-handed hitter in a lineup dominated by lefties, featuring only one-to-two righties. The Phillies ultimately demoted Franco, and Asche was named the opening day starter at third base.Asche began the 2014 successfully; on opening day, he went three-for-four at the plate, scored four runs, had a double, home run, and two RBI. However, over the first month of the season, he struggled, which led to frequent replacement in the lineup by either Freddy Galvis or Jayson Nix, particularly against left-handed pitchers. None of the trio produced offensively, which led to suggestions within the media the Phillies should promote Franco. On May 6, however, he had four hits in four at bats, including a game-tying grand slam in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays, though the Phillies ultimately lost in extra innings. He struggled mightily in the field on May 13, committing three total errors, two of which occurred in an inning during which the Angels scored four unearned runs. However, after that series, Asche bounced back against the Reds in a three-game series during which he went 7 for 12 with six RBI and three extra base hits, including a three-run home run. On May 25, he was placed on the disabled list as a precaution due to a strained left hamstring. As the season progressed, Asche was the regular starter, and ultimately, he described his season as "satisfactory", with room for improvement, while Crashburn Alley's Michael Baumann called Asche's season "encouraging and disappointing at the same time."