Spradlin attended Katella High School in Anaheim, California. He pitched three innings for its freshman baseball team but was cut from its sophomore, junior varsity and varsity baseball teams.
In the two years after he graduated high school in 1985, he worked menial, odd jobs. In the fall of 1987, he enrolled at Fullerton College and, at the suggestion of a classmate, tried out for the baseball team. Spradlin made the team but struggled in the little playing time he got while also juggling a full academic schedule and a full-time job at The Home Depot to make ends meet. After missing two team trips, Spradlin was cut from the team with less than twelve innings pitched in his college baseball career. Spradlin went on to play in an amateur baseball league while taking pitching lessons from former MLB pitcher Clyde Wright. Wright recommended Spradlin to Cincinnati Reds scout Ed Roebuck.
The Reds went on to draft Spradlin in the 19th round of the 1988 Major League Baseball draft. He was assigned to the Billings Mustangs to begin his professional career. In April 1989, he combined with two other pitchers to throw a no-hitter for the Greensboro Hornets. In the 1992 season, he set a Southern League record with 34 saves.

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