Reds select Riverhawks pitcher in MLB Draft

Edmonton Riverhawks pitcher Carson Latimer in action on July 1 against the Port Angeles Lefties.

Carson Latimer is now major-league property.

The hard-throwing pitcher for the Edmonton Riverhawks saw his name called in the 12th round, 354th overall, of the Major League Baseball Draft on Monday by the Cincinnati Reds.

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The 21-year-old right-hander who attends Sacramento State University is in the Riverhawks’ starting rotation.

The 6-foot-3, 210-lb. native of Delta, B.C., who is 2-0 with a 0.85 earned-run average and 21 strikeouts in four starts for the West Coast League (WCL) club, threw the fastest pitch recorded in the four years of Riverhawks history. He threw a fastball clocked at 99 miles per hour on July 1 during the team’s sold-out Canada Day game against the Port Angeles Lefties.

Latimer played the U.S. college spring season for Sacramento State, going 2-3 in 15 appearances for the Hornets, seven of them starts. He finished the spring campaign with a 6.14 ERA, striking out 28 and walking 26 in 36.2 innings of work.

The Riverhawks are 6-3, good for second in second-half play in the league’s North Division, 2-12 games behind the Victoria HarbourCats. The summer collegiate squad placed third in the first half of the season with a 14-12 record, 3-1/2 games behind the first-place Bellingham Bulls.

Edmonton returns to WCL action on Friday (7:05 p.m.) at ReMax Field to begin a three-game set against the visiting Kamloops NorthPaws.