web Charlotte

June 10, 2009

Charlotte, N.C. - Former Charlotte 49er Spencer Steedley has made his second-straight All-Star game in his first two full seasons of minor league baseball. Steedley, who plays for the Ft. Myers Miracle of the Florida State League, was announced as an All-Star for the North Division late last week. Ft. Myers is leading the North Division and will be the host squad for this year's mid-summer classic.

"This is a big deal for me," said Steedley from Florida. "My goal was to have a good first half. I feel really good about how I'm progressing. These last couple of years of being a pitcher only has helped me a lot in learning how to read hitters and working on my mechanics."

Steedley was an All-Star for the West squad in the Midwest League last season. He was 5-3 with the Beloit Snappers of that league with a 2.05 ERA and eight saves last season. This year with the Class A-Advanced Miracle, Steedley is 4-0 with one save and a 0.67 ERA in 20 appearances.

"Spencer is a tremendous athlete with an outstanding work ethic," said Charlotte 49ers head coach Loren Hibbs. "The Twins have done a great job of being patient with him due to his inexperience as a pitcher at Charlotte as he pitched sparingly for us until his senior year. We saw firsthand how hard he worked in the offseason and it is paying off."

Steedley was a 25th round pick of the Minnesota Twins in the 2007 Amateur Baseball Draft. A First-Team All-Atlantic 10 starting pitcher in his senior season, Steedley finished with an 8-2 record and a 3.05 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 112 innings in 2007. He was also the first player in team history to be First-Team All-Conference as a position player and a pitcher, earning first-team honors as an outfielder in the A-10 in 2006. He pitched sparingly for Charlotte, becoming a weekend starter in only his senior year of college baseball.

"There is a reason that he has been so successful at each stop of his career," said Charlotte pitching coach and recruiting coordinator Brandon Hall. "We are excited with his progress so far in pro ball. I think he still has a lot of room to grow, as he has only been a full-time pitcher for two years now."

For his Charlotte career, he was 13-8, with a 5.05 ERA and 127 strikeouts. He also belted 22 career home runs and 47 doubles with a career .290 batting average. In the summer of 2007, playing for the Elizabethton Twins in short-season rookie ball, he was 2-3, with a 2.92 ERA in 37 innings, adding 51 strikeouts.