Michael Aubrey

Robert Michael Aubrey (born April 15, 1982) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians and Baltimore Orioles.

Aubrey attended Southwood High School (1997–2000) where he won the Gatorade Player of the Year award as a senior. He attended Tulane University from 2001–2003. In 186 games with Tulane, Aubrey hit .368 with 38 home runs and 200 RBI. As a pitcher in 2001 and 2002, he won 11 games and lost 2 with a 4.88 ERA. In 2001, he was named National Freshman of the Year by Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball and The Sporting News.

In 2002, as a member of the USA National Team, he led the team in batting average, home runs and RBI. As a junior at Tulane in 2003, he was named Conference USA Player of the Year and was a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award, given annually to the top amateur baseball player in the United States.

Aubrey's talents were originally discovered by Brad Somrak while he was throwing a ball at a dunk tank at the Allegheny County Fairgrounds in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This was first reported by the Razor's Edge in the University of Akron student newspaper, the Buchtelite.^{[citation needed]}

The Cleveland Indians selected Aubrey in the first round (11th overall) of the 2003 Major League Baseball draft. On June 16, 2003, he signed a contract with the Indians, and was assigned to the Single-A Lake County Captains to begin his professional career. After getting injured in his second game and missing a month with a strained quad, Aubrey heated up at the end of July, hitting .385 from July 29 until the end of the season. Overall, Aubrey batted .348 with five home runs and 19 RBI in 38 games with Lake County.

Aubrey began the 2004 season with the Single-A Kinston Indians, batting .339 with 10 home runs and 60 RBI in 60 games. He was named to the Carolina League All-Star team and was ranked fourth in the league in RBI and fifth in batting average before being promoted to the Double-A Akron Aeros on June 21. On July 8, Aubrey was placed on the disabled list with a strained hamstring. He was activated on August 13. In the final game of Akron's season on September 6 against the Harrisburg Senators, Aubrey finished 3-for-4 with two home runs and 5 RBI. In 38 games for the Aeros, he batted .261 with five home runs and 22 RBI. After the season, Aubrey was named Cleveland's second-best prospect by Baseball America.

Aubrey's injury problems continued in 2005. He was limited to only 28 games with Akron, and hit .283 with four home runs and 20 RBI. On May 10, he was placed on the disabled list with lower back inflammation, and although he was activated on June 10, he was limited to two at-bats in Akron's game that night due to continued soreness. He eventually was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his lower back, ending his season. On November 18, Aubrey was added to the Indians' 40-man roster.

Aubrey did not participate in spring training activities in 2006 due his continued rehab from his back injury. He played in 14 combined games with Single-A Kinston and Double-A Akron, batting .278 with three home runs and 12 RBI. While playing with Akron, Aubrey suffered a right knee strain, which proved to be season-ending. He was recalled as a September call-up for the Indians on September 21, but did not appear in a Major League game due to his injury.