Orioles News: Spenser Watkins Making First Career Start on Tuesday

It's been another tough season for the last-place Baltimore Orioles, but some young players on the team have certainly showed future potential. The team is hoping another rookie can have some success as 28-year-old right-hander Spenser Watkins is set to make his first MLB start on Tuesday.

Spenser Watkins Orioles

Watkins is a former 30th-round draft pick back in 2014 that made his MLB debut last Friday pitching a scoreless inning against the Los Angeles Angels as a part of Baltimore's bullpen. He now shifts into the No. 5 spot in the starting rotation given the recent elbow injury suffered by Travis Lakins.

Before he was called up last week, Watkins was working as a full-time starting pitcher with the Triple-A Norfolk Tides. He had posted a 3.58 ERA and 1.12 WHIP across six starts with the team. Overall, he racked up 27 strikeouts and gave up 11 walks in 32.2 innings pitched.

It's a feel-good story for Watkins as he contemplated retiring from the sport this past offseason to pursue a coaching career. He decided to sign a minor-league deal with the Orioles instead and has now fulfilled his lifetime dream of pitching in the major leagues.

Watkins draws a tough home matchup against Steven Matz and the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday. The Orioles head into that game as +160 moneyline underdogs, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

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Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.