Brandon Waddell
Brandon David Waddell is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.Career
Waddell attended Clear Lake High School in Houston, Texas, and took college level courses at the University of Houston–Clear Lake. He enrolled at the University of Virginia to play college baseball for the Virginia Cavaliers baseball team. Virginia reached the final round in the 2014 College World Series, and he started the must win game 2, which Virginia won, but then went on to lose game 3. With his extra credits, Waddell graduated from the University of Virginia in three years with a degree in economics, and has been admitted to the masters program in the Curry School of Education at Virginia. He pitched in the deciding game of the 2015 College World Series, earning the win.
The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Waddell in the fifth round of the 2015 MLB draft. He signed with the Pirates, receiving a $315,000 signing bonus. Waddell made his professional debut with the West Virginia Black Bears of the Class A-Short Season New York-Penn League, where he spent the whole season, going 1–1 with a 5.75 ERA in six games. He began the 2016 season with the Bradenton Marauders of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League, and was promoted to the Altoona Curve of the Class AA Eastern League in May. He pitched to a combined 11–9 record with a 3.49 ERA between both teams. Waddell spent 2017 with Altoona where he posted a 3–3 record with a 3.55 ERA in 15 games. He split the 2018 and 2019 seasons between Altoona and the Indianapolis Indians of the Class AAA International League.
