Chad Pinder is making a strong impression with the A’s right now, but then again his road to the big leagues trained him to make the most of whatever opportunity comes his way.
When Pinder was drafted by the A’s in 2013 as a shortstop out of Virginia Tech, they were loaded at that position with highly touted prospects such as Addison Russell and Daniel Robertson. But it was that infield depth that opened the door to Pinder gaining the versatility that’s served him so well this season in Oakland.
In 2014, Robertson was entrenched at shortstop for Single-A Stockton and the A’s shifted Pinder over to second base.