Andrew Hunter Wantz (born October 13, 1995) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

for the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2021.

Amateur career

A native of

Holly Springs, North Carolina Holly Springs is a town in Wake County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 41,239, a 67% increase from 2010. History Etymology The town's name refers to the free flowing springs that emerge into a ...

, Wantz played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

University of North Carolina at Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. UNCG, like all members of the UNC system, is a stand-a ...

. In 2016, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operate ...

with the

Bourne Braves The Bourne Braves are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Bourne, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Braves play their home games at Doran Park on the ca ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thous ...

where he was named a league all-star. Wantz was selected by the

in the seventh round of the

2018 MLB draft The 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In ad ...

Professional career

Wantz made his professional debut with the rookie-level

Orem Owlz The Orem Owlz were a Minor League Baseball team located in Orem, Utah, United States, from 2001 to 2020. The team competed in the Pioneer League as a Rookie League affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. The Owlz played their home games at Home o ...

. He also played for the Single-A

Burlington Bees The Burlington Bees are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Burlington, Iowa, and have played their home games at Community Field since 1947. Founded in 1889, the Bees played in Minor League Baseball ...

, pitching to a cumulative 1-2 record and 2.74 ERA in 18 games. In 2019, Wantz split the season the High-A

Inland Empire 66ers The Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. The 66ers are based in San Bernardino, California, and play at San Manuel Stadium. Franchi ...

and the Double-A

Mobile BayBears The Mobile BayBears were a Minor League Baseball team based in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The team, which played in the Southern League, served as the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres (1997–2006), Arizona Diamondbacks (2007– ...

, posting a 5-9 record and 5.34 ERA with 112 strikeouts in 96.0 innings of work. Wantz did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. They are located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and play their home games at Smith's Ballpark. The ballpark op ...

to begin the 2021 season, where he recorded a 2.10 ERA in 8 appearances. On July 3, 2021, Wantz was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his MLB debut the following day, pitching an inning and a third of relief against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

. On April 19, 2022, the Angels recalled Wantz from Triple-A Salt Lake and added him to the active roster. Wantz made his first major league starting appearance on June 27, 2022 at the last minute as an opener, but was ejected for the first time in his career after one pitch in the second inning (and twelve pitches total), which

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

Mariner A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

Jesse Winker Jesse Winker (born August 17, 1993) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Cincinnati Reds and Seattle Mariners. He was an All-Star in 202 ...

, triggering a

bench-clearing brawl A bench-clearing brawl is a form of fighting that occurs in sports, most notably baseball and ice hockey, in which most or all players on both teams leave their dugouts, bullpens, or benches, and charge onto the playing area in order to fight on ...

which resulted in eight players and both team managers being ejected, including Wantz and Winker. Wantz threw a pitch behind the head of the second batter of the game,

Julio Rodríguez Julio Yarnel Rodríguez Jr. (born December 29, 2000), nicknamed "J-Rod", is a Dominican professional baseball center fielder for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He signed with the Mariners as an international free agent in ...

, in the first inning. The day after, Wantz was suspended three games by Major League Baseball, with his manager

Phil Nevin Phillip Joseph Nevin (born January 19, 1971) is an American professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He is the manager for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for 12 seasons, appearing in 1,217 games ...

receiving a ten-game suspension for ordering a

beanball "Beanball" is a colloquialism used in baseball, for a ball thrown at an opposing player with the intention of striking them such as to cause harm, often connoting a throw at the player's head (or "bean" in old-fashioned slang). A pitcher who thr ...

despite both teams being warned not to.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wantz, Andrew 1995 births Living people People from Holly Springs, North Carolina Baseball players from North Carolina Major League Baseball pitchers Los Angeles Angels players UNC Greensboro Spartans baseball players Bourne Braves players Orem Owlz players Burlington Bees players Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino players Mobile BayBears players Salt Lake Bees players