We’ve written about Brandon Waddell a lot this weekend. He had a great start on Friday for Bradenton, and I wrote what was working so well for him this year on Sunday. Hours after that article, Waddell was promoted to Altoona, which is an aggressive move for the Pirates. In fact, without looking it up, I can safely assume that Waddell reached Double-A faster than any college player drafted by the Pirates under Neal Huntington. The numbers and results that led to his promotion also have him as our Pitcher of the Month for April.
Waddell had five starts in Bradenton, and made it look easy, posting an 0.93 ERA in 29 innings of work, along with a 26:2 K/BB ratio. He got ahead of hitters on a consistent basis, pounded the strike zone, and didn’t look challenged at all by A-ball hitters. He rarely got to three ball counts, and did a good job of mixing his pitches, getting a good amount of strikeouts.
It will be interesting to see how Waddell fares in Double-A. He doesn’t have the best stuff, with none of his pitches grading out as more than above-average. He is successful because he changes speeds well, and also pounds the strike zone with great command and the ability to locate his fastball on both corners of the strike zone. He’s not a power pitcher, but he’s also not exactly a finesse guy either. So his results aren’t just the product of going against A-ball guys, and he should do well against upper level hitters.
Waddell had some tough competition this month. The next closest pitcher was Mitch Keller, who had an 0.86 ERA and a 28:1 K/BB ratio in 21 innings for West Virginia. Waddell benefited from having success over one extra start, making five starts to Keller’s four. He also had some competition from Indianapolis, with Jameson Taillon, Tyler Glasnow, and Chad Kuhl all posting impressive numbers in April. Waddell was just dominant, in a way that he beat out all of the other top performers, and earned himself a promotion in the process.
PITCHERS OF THE MONTH BY LEVEL
Indianapolis – Jameson Taillon, RHP (1.54 ERA, 23:2 K/BB, 23.1 IP)
Altoona – Tyler Eppler, RHP (3.33 ERA, 17:3 K/BB, 24.1 IP)
Bradenton – Brandon Waddell, LHP (0.93 ERA, 26:2 K/BB, 29.0 IP)
West Virginia – Mitch Keller, RHP (0.86 ERA, 28:1 K/BB, 21.0 IP)