CLEMSON, S.C. – Former Tiger infielder Steve Wilkerson (Roswell, Ga.) made his major league debut with the Baltimore Orioles in a reserve role against the Nationals in Washington, D.C., in a game that started on Wednesday night. Wilkerson, who entered in the ninth inning as a defensive replacement at third base, became the 58th former Tiger to play in a major league game and sixth in 2018, joining Daniel Gossett (Athletics), Spencer Kieboom (Nationals), Dominic Leone (Cardinals), Brad Miller (Rays) and Tony Sipp (Astros).
Wilkerson had played the 2018 season at the AAA level with Norfolk (Va.), where he hit .290 with three homers, four doubles, nine RBIs, 11 runs, a .362 on-base percentage and 1.000 fielding percentage in 16 games. He has played his entire five-year professional career in the Oriole organization, hitting .267 with 19 homers, 68 doubles, nine triples, 135 RBIs, 204 runs and 38 steals in 397 games in the minors.
The three-time, Second-Team All-ACC selection was a career .291 hitter with 11 homers, 47 doubles, six triples, 115 RBIs, 113 runs, a .362 on-base percentage and 29 steals in 216 games (185 starts) over four seasons as a Tiger. He also had five double-digit hitting streaks in his career.
As a senior in 2014, he won the Mitchell Award as the team’s most valuable player after hitting .317 with six homers, 18 doubles and 42 RBIs. After the season, he was drafted in the eighth round (No. 241 overall pick) by the Orioles.
