BOONE, N.C. — Hickory Crawdads relief pitcher and Appalachian State University baseball alumnus Jeffrey Springs was named to the South Atlantic League Northern Division all-star team on Friday. Springs will represent the Crawdads and the Northern Division in the 57th-annual SAL All-Star Game on Tuesday at Whitaker Bank Ballpark in Lexington, Ky.

In his first full professional season, Springs is 1-1 with a 1.24 ERA, two saves, 36 strikeouts and just eight walks in 17 relief appearances this season (29.0 innings pitched). The southpaw leads all relievers in the class-A SAL with a .112 opponents' batting average and ranks second in the league with just 5.9 baserunners allowed per nine innings. His 1.24 ERA and 0.66 WHIP lead the Crawdads. In 17 appearances, Springs has allowed an earned run only twice while turning in 10 perfect outings.

The four-year letterwinner at Appalachian State was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 30th round of the 2015 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. He made his pro debut with the Rangers' short-season rookie affiliate in Spokane, Wash. before being promoted to Hickory for two appearances at the end of the 2015 campaign. He has compiled a 3-3 record, 1.95 ERA, 75 strikeouts and 23 walks in 34 pro appearances.

In four seasons as a Mountaineer (2012-15), Springs went 11-12 with a 5.10 ERA and 215 strikeouts in 58 appearances (43 starts).  His 215 career strikeouts rank fourth in school history.

Springs is one of four former Mountaineers currently playing in the professional ranks, joining former teammates Jaylin Davis (extended spring training — Minnesota Twins organization), Dillon Dobson (class-A Augusta GreenJackets — San Francisco Giants) and Michael Pierson (class-A Burlington Bees — Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim). All four were drafted in 2015.

Despite not yet playing in a professional game while continuing to recover from a shoulder injury sustained while at App State in 2015, Davis was recently named the No. 37 prospect in the Twins' organization by TwinsDaily.com. Davis hit .300 in 90 official at-bats during extended spring training and will likely make his pro debut this month for the nearby Elizabethton Twins (rookie — Appalachian League).

Dobson is hitting .273 with 10 doubles, four triples, eight home runs and 28 RBI for Augusta, which, like the Crawdads, is in the SAL. In 105 professional games, he is hitting .280 with 25 doubles, 11 triples and 11 home runs.

Pierson led all of Minor League Baseball with a .395 batting average last summer as a member of the rookie-level Orem Owlz (Pioneer League). In 53 games this season at Burlington (Midwest League), he is hitting .212 but has 11 doubles in 53 games.