Brandon Waddell Stats & Scouting Report

IP	12
ERA	6
WHIP	2.25
BB/9	8.25
SO/9	6.75

Full name Brandon David Waddell
Born 06/03/1994 in Houston, TX
Profile Ht.: 6'3" / Wt.: 180 / Bats: L / Throws: L
School Virginia
Debut 08/14/2020
Drafted in the 5th round (157th overall) by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2015 (signed for $315,000).

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Waddell was a key part of Virginia's deep run at Omaha as a sophomore, and had high expectations in 2015. His stuff came and went from start to start, though he did show flashes of excellence. At his best, Waddell works off his potential average fastball and late-moving cutter. He's able to get his heater up to 92, though he pitches more in the upper 80s. Waddell's curveball also shows potential at times, with above-average depth and 11-to-5 shape, though he has a habit of breaking the pitch off early, an issue he will have to correct before the pitch is ready to use against Major Leaguers. Waddell's stuff is generally pretty vanilla, and some project him as more of middle innings reliever, though the deception in his delivery leads some scouts to believe that he may be able to sharpen his stuff up enough to pitch as a no. 5 starter.

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Waddell was Virginia's go-to hurler in big games, and he went 6-1, 2.34 in 11 NCAA Tournament games. He won all five of his career starts in the College World Series, helping the Cavaliers to the 2015 national title. That convinced the Pirates to take him in the fifth round. Waddell reached Double-A Altoona in his first full season in 2016. He didn't get a chance to move up in 2017, thanks in part to two left forearm strains that cost him close to a month, but he still became a stalwart for the Curve in their Eastern League championship run. He pitched six shutout innings in his start against Trenton in the championship series, continuing to be a go-to starter in big games. He gets most of his work done with the combination of a fastball that sits between 88-92 mph that he can locate to both sides of the plate and a changeup with fade that looks exactly like a fastball out of his hand. He's working on a breaking ball that's something in between a slider and a curveball, and he's trying to commit to one direction or another with it. Waddell will join at backlog of pitchers at Triple-A Indianapolis in 2018 and has No. 5 starter potential.
Waddell was one of the best big-game college pitchers in recent years. He won all five career starts in the College World Series for Virginia, including a complete-game shutout in 2014, and helped the Cavs win the 2015 CWS. Overall he went 6-1, 2.34 in 11 NCAA Tournament starts. Waddell climbed all the way to Double-A Altoona in his first full season in 2016. Waddell's stuff grades out as just average across the board, with an 89-91 mph fastball along with a slider and a changeup. He sets himself apart by expertly mixing his pitches and his willingness to pitch inside despite subpar velocity, which dovetails with the Pirates' organizational philosophy. Waddell won't ever pitch at the top of the rotation and his inability to get Double-A hitters to chase pitches outside the strike zone is a concern. He'll start 2017 back in the Double-A rotation.

Draft Prospects

Waddell was a key part of Virginia's deep run at Omaha as a sophomore, and had high expectations in 2015. His stuff came and went from start to start, though he did show flashes of excellence. At his best, Waddell works off his potential average fastball and late-moving cutter. He's able to get his heater up to 92, though he pitches more in the upper 80s. Waddell's curveball also shows potential at times, with above-average depth and 11-to-5 shape, though he has a habit of breaking the pitch off early, an issue he will have to correct before the pitch is ready to use against Major Leaguers. Waddell's stuff is generally pretty vanilla, and some project him as more of middle innings reliever, though the deception in his delivery leads some scouts to believe that he may be able to sharpen his stuff up enough to pitch as a no. 5 starter.