ALTOONA, Pa. -- A year ago Brandon Waddell wrapped up his bachelor’s degree in economics and readied for a College World Series run with the University of Virginia.
The dominant left-handed pitcher, who was thrust into the coveted role of the Friday starter during his freshman season, completed a three-year career at UVA that was anything but ordinary. Eleven months ago he toed the rubber in the series-clinching game of the College World Series, completing a postseason career where Virginia went 5-0 in Waddell’s five College World Series starts.
“I couldn’t even put into words what it did for me,” Waddell told DKPittsburghSports.com earlier this week. “You play the game -- for me, I'm going to say 18 years before I got there, basically my whole life -- and you think you know the game of baseball. But, I got there and it just opened my eyes to a whole way of thinking and way of playing and I think that contributes a lot to out here, they allow you to see things, allow you to understand the game at a much deeper level.”
Waddell’s 53 career starts were a program record, and so too were his 11 career NCAA tournament starts. The Pirates selected him in the fifth round of last year’s draft. After posting a 0.93 ERA through five starts at High-A Bradenton — complete with 26 strikeouts through 29 innings, surrendering 13 hits to just two walks — the 21-year-old lefty was promoted to Double-A Altoona on May 1.
“He wasn’t overwhelmed right away,” Altoona Curve manager Joey Cora said.
Waddell is 3-0 with a 2.41 ERA since his arrival. Rainouts on Saturday and Sunday pushed back Waddell’s scheduled start — also career firsts, as the pitcher pointed out — so he’ll throw again Tuesday night.
“From the get-go you could tell he was comfortable with his surroundings and we knew what he was all about and he hasn’t changed,” Cora said. “I read one of the comments where they said one of the mistakes people make when they come up is that they think they have to do a little bit more, which is not true. You just keep doing what you’re doing because there’s a reason whey they called you up. That was a great way to look at it and he’s gotten that.”
On a Curve roster with highly-touted, but also young, prospects like Reese McGuire and Austin Meadows, Waddell’s poise on and off the mound is unusual and his maturity rare for someone who turns 22 next month. After completing his throwing program Sunday afternoon, long after most players cleared out of the clubhouse because of the rained-out doubleheader, Waddell spoke about his quick rise and his transition to Double-A ball.
“There’s going to be an adjustment period, it’s just not getting lost in it,” he said, adding that establishing a rhythm on the mound was among the first items he tackled in pro ball, something he started working on last July after signing and pitching for the West Virginia Black Bears.
He went 1-1 with a 5.75 ERA through six regular-season starts with the Morgantown-based club. His six-inning performance in the New York-Penn League semifinals, where he allowed two hits and a walk while striking out six, adds to the narrative of his success in big games.
Cora raved about Waddell’s rhythm, saying he loves how he fires strikes and doesn’t waste time between pitches, aiming to keep batters uncomfortable while the fielders stay ready to go.
“Granted you’re in a different stadium, new uniforms, new teammates and stuff like that, but when you’re out there on the mound you’re still doing the same job and you don’t lose sight of that,” Waddell said. “The Pirates, the organization, they say it all the time, 'Be where your feet are. Focus on what’s in front of you and take care of that.' ”
Waddell, admittedly once a skinny kid — “an absolute pole” as the now 6-foot-3, 180 pounder put it — grew up in Houston and was an Astros season-ticket holder. He enjoyed watching Billy Wagner light up the radar gun and has since met and gotten to know Wagner, a Virginia native who keeps an eye on and an interest in UVA baseball.
Waddell adds that, unlike Wagner, he’s never been known for his velocity. He said he focused more on mechanics and making quality pitches because of it. Waddell’s fastball is in the 90-94 mph range, something he said he won’t complain about at this stage in his career.
“I was never the kid who was going to overpower you, who was going to throw the hardest in Little League or high school ball or anything like that. I was never that guy,” he said. “For me, the way to be successful was location and mixing up pitches and keeping guys off balance and I think that helped me a lot as I got older and my velocity started to come along. I’m still not a guy that’s going to go out there and hit mid-90s and overpower a bunch of guys, but I think it’s just part of my development and personally I think I’m fortunate because I was much more of location over velocity and I still am.”
When he’s not starting, he said he learns more about what to do and not do by watching the other pitchers and how they approach certain batters or situations. He’s enjoyed working with McGuire, too, the Pirates’ 2013 first-round pick whose ability to call games impressed from an early age.
It’s certainly been a whirlwind of a year for Waddell, whose early success makes him feel a little better about that completed economics degree that he’s hoping he’ll never need.
“Now I have it and it’s sitting in my room,” he said with a laugh. “The goal is to never have to use it."
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