Baseball | 9/5/2018 11:56:00 AM

>>> Florida State League All-Star

A former Western Oregon baseball standout has been tearing up minor league baseball this season and the pundits have noticed. Spenser Watkins, a pitcher who spent 2013 and 2014 with the Wolves' baseball team, has just been announced as a postseason all-star in the Florida State League of Minor League Baseball.

After being drafted in the 30^th round of the 2014 MLB Draft by the Detroit Tigers, Watkins began his professional baseball career in the Gulf Coast League that summer.

Now in his fifth year in Detroit's system, Watkins compiled an 8-4 record and a 2.24 ERA over 22 appearances including 13 starts this season with the Lakeland Flying Tigers, Detroit's Class A Advanced affiliate. He led the league in ERA and had the only sub-2.50 mark among qualified pitchers. Watkins also led the Florida State League in complete games (2), WHIP (1.10) and was second in opponent batting average (.225).

On July 1, he was named the FSL Pitcher of the Week after coming within two outs of a no-hitter, allowing just one hit and striking out seven in a complete game. It was the second time he has earned a Pitcher of the Week nod in his career.

While with Western Oregon, Watkins collected 171 strikeouts over 167.0 innings in two seasons as a starter. He set the single-game school record with 14 strikeouts May 3, 2013, at Central Washington and finished his career sixth on the all-time strikeout list.

The right-hander from Phoenix, Ariz. has been named to two mid-season all-star teams, once in 2015 in the New York-Penn League and again in 2018 in the FSL. This is his first post-season all-star team nomination.

Spenser has made his way as high as the triple-A level this year, starting two games for the Toledo Mud Hens of the International League. He is finishing his 2018 campaign in double-A ball with the Erie SeaWolves where he has made his last three starts.