BOONE, N.C. — Between the professional signings and debuts, the All-Star appearances and promotions, it's been a whirlwind month filled with noteworthy accomplishments for Appalachian State baseball.
Since the Mountaineers ended the 2018 season with an 11-7 victory against No. 16 Coastal Carolina:
* Junior pitcher
Colin Schmid was a 13th-round draft pick of the St. Louis Cardinals.
* A day apart,
Luke Watts made his pro debut Friday night and Schmid appeared in a minor league game for the first time Saturday.
*
Matt Brill and Jaylin Davis were named minor league All-Stars.
* Jeffrey Springs was promoted to Triple A, putting him one step away from the Major Leagues, while Davis was promoted to Double A and Brill was promoted to High A.
With Watts joining MLB farmhands such as Schmid, Brill, Springs, Davis, Dillon Dobson and
Chandler Seagle, there are currently seven App State alums playing professional baseball.
A left-handed relief pitcher in the Texas Rangers' organization, Springs moved up to the Triple A Round Rock Express in mid-June. Davis has joined Dobson in Double A with a call-up to the Chattanooga Lookouts, an affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, and Davis homered Sunday in his third game with the Lookouts. He was a Florida State League All-Star this year as a member of the Fort Myers Miracle, as he went 1-for-3 and stole a base in that June 16 game.
Dobson (a first baseman for the Richmond Flying Squirrels, a San Francisco Giants affiliate), Davis and Springs were all picked in the 2015 draft. The 2017 draft included the selection of Seagle, a catcher with the Tri-City Dust Devils from the San Diego Padres' organization, and Brill.
After being a Midwest League All-Star with the Kane County Cougars and pitching a scoreless inning in the June 19 game, Brill moved up in the Arizona Diamondbacks' organization with his Sunday call-up to the High A Visalia Rawhide of the California League.
Davis homered as a Double A newcomer and Brill received his promotion a day after Schmid, a left-handed pitcher, made his debut out of the bullpen for St. Louis Cardinals affiliate Johnson City. That followed a Friday pro debut from Watts, who struck out two batters in a scoreless eighth inning for the Lake Erie Crushers of the independent Frontier League.
