Brandon David Waddell (born June 3, 1994) 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

Doosan Bears The Doosan Bears ( ko, 두산 베어스) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Seoul. Founded in 1982, they are a member of the KBO League. The Bears have won six Korean Series titles (1982, 1995, 2001, 2015, 2016, and 2019) an ...

of the

KBO League The KBO League (), officially the Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League, is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers are ...

. He has played in

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) for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area ...

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 ...

, and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals h ...

and in the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 2 ...

(CPBL) for the

Rakuten Monkeys The Rakuten Monkeys (), formerly First Financial Holdings Agan (, abbreviated ), La New Bears () and then the Lamigo Monkeys (), are a professional baseball team in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) in Taiwan. Owned and administer ...

Career

Amateur career

Waddell attended Clear Lake High School in

Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, and took college level courses at the

University of Houston–Clear Lake The University of Houston–Clear Lake (UHCL) is a public university in Pasadena and Houston, Texas, with branch campuses in Pearland and Texas Medical Center. It is part of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1971, UHCL had ...

. He enrolled at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with College admission ...

to play

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

Virginia Cavaliers baseball The Virginia Cavaliers baseball team represents the University of Virginia in NCAA Division I college baseball. Established in 1889, the team participates in the Coastal division of the Atlantic Coast Conference and plays its home games at Daven ...

team. Virginia reached the final round in the 2014 College World Series, and he started the must win game two, which Virginia won, but then went on to lose game three. 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 School of Education and Human Development (formerly the Curry School of Education) at Virginia. He pitched in the deciding game of the 2015 College World Series, earning the win.

Pittsburgh Pirates

The

selected Waddell in the fifth round of the

2015 MLB draft Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music * Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak albu ...

. He signed with the Pirates, receiving a $315,000

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

. Waddell made his professional debut with the

West Virginia Black Bears The West Virginia Black Bears are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Granville, West Virginia, and play their home games at Monongalia County Ballpark, which is across the Monongahela River from Morga ...

of the Low–A

New York-Penn League New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

, 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 The Bradenton Marauders are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Bradenton, Florida, and play their home games at LECOM Park, which also serves as the ...

of the High–A

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A follow ...

, and was promoted to the

Altoona Curve The Altoona Curve are a Minor League Baseball team based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, named after nearby Horseshoe Curve (but also alluding to the curveball, a type of pitch). The team plays in the Eastern League and is the Double-A affiliate of th ...

of the Double–A 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 The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which opene ...

of the Triple–A

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

. On August 9, 2020, Waddell had his contract selected to the

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

. He made his major league debut on August 14 against the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

Minnesota Twins

On October 30, 2020, the

claimed Waddell off of waivers. On February 11, 2021, Waddell was designated for assignment following the waiver claim of

Kyle Garlick Kyle Bruce Garlick (born January 26, 1992) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2019 for the Los Angeles Dodgers and has also played for the Philadel ...

. On February 13, Waddell was outrighted and invited to

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives estab ...

as a non-roster invitee. On April 7, 2021, Waddell was selected to the 40-man and active rosters. After recording an 11.25 ERA in 4 appearances, Waddell was designated for assignment on May 7, 2021.

Baltimore Orioles

On May 8, 2021, Waddell was claimed off of waivers by the

. Waddell pitched 1.0 scoreless inning for Baltimore before being designated for assignment on June 4.

St. Louis Cardinals

On June 6, 2021, Waddell was claimed off waivers by the

. Waddell made 4 appearances for the Cardinals in 2021, going 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA and 7 strikeouts. On April 4, 2022, Waddell was designated for assignment by the Cardinals. He was outrighted to the Triple-A

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redb ...

on April 7. He was released on July 13.

Doosan Bears

On July 17, 2022, Waddell signed with the

of the

Korea Baseball Organization The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO; ko, 한국야구위원회) is the governing body for the professional leagues of baseball in South Korea. The KBO was founded in 1981 and has governed two leagues: the KBO League ( ko, KBO 리그) and K ...

. He made 11 starts for Doosan down the stretch, logging a 5-3 record and 3.60 ERA with 40 strikeouts in 65 innings pitched.

Rakuten Monkeys

On January 14, 2023, Waddell signed with the

of the

. On April 1, Waddell started an Opening Day victory for the Monkeys in his CPBL debut. In 12 starts for Rakuten, he registered a 5–5 record and 3.30 ERA with 60 strikeouts in 71.0 innings pitched.

Doosan Bears (second stint)

On June 12, 2023, the Monkeys completed a contract transfer with the

of the

, with Waddell set to report to Doosan on June 16 after one final start with the Monkeys. In 18 starts for Doosan, he registered an 11–3 record and 2.49 ERA with 100 strikeouts across innings of work. On December 21, 2023, Waddell re–signed with the Bears on a one–year, $1 million contract.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waddell, Brandon 1994 births Living people Baseball players from Houston Major League Baseball pitchers Pittsburgh Pirates players Minnesota Twins players Baltimore Orioles players St. Louis Cardinals players Virginia Cavaliers baseball players Curry School of Education alumni Gulf Coast Pirates players West Virginia Black Bears players Bradenton Marauders players Altoona Curve players Glendale Desert Dogs players Indianapolis Indians players Norfolk Tides players Memphis Redbirds players Rakuten Monkeys players