Brandon Lee Walter (born September 8, 1996) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), 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, ...

for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

Early life and amateur career

Walter grew up in

New Castle, Delaware New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The city is located six miles (10 km) south of Wilmington, Delaware, Wilmington and is situated on the Delaware River. As of 2020, the city's population was 5,551. New Cast ...

, and attended Hodgson Vo-Tech High School, where he played for the school's baseball team. He finished his high school career with a 23–3 win–loss record and a 0.83

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA). Walter attended the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially known as UD, UDel, or Delaware) is a Statutory college#Delaware, privately governed, state-assisted Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Newark, Delaware, United States. UD offers f ...

and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens. He became the Blue Hens' primary weekend starter as a freshman and was named third team All-

Colonial Athletic Association The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the ECAC South Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA' ...

after going 7–3 with a 3.63 ERA and 85

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s. Walter tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow in the ninth start of his sophomore season, requiring him to undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the rest of the year and his entire junior season. He returned in 2019 and went 5–6 with a 3.86 ERA while striking out 106 batters over

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

Professional career

Boston Red Sox

The

selected Walter in the 26th round, with the 797th overall selection, of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft. After signing with the team, he was assigned to the Gulf Coast League Red Sox, where he posted a 4–1 record and 2.70 ERA with 39 strikeouts in innings pitched across 13 appearances. Walter 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 and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Walter began the 2021 season with the Low-A Salem Red Sox. He was promoted to the

High-A High-A, officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing, is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A and D ...

Greenville Drive after posting a 1.45 ERA over 13 appearances. Walter made 25 appearances with 14 starts between the two teams and was named the Red Sox Minor League Pitcher of the Year after having a 2.92 ERA, a 0.97

WHIP A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

, and a .199 batting average against. Walter began the 2022 season in Double-A with the Portland Sea Dogs. In June, he was promoted to the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox. On November 15, 2022, Walter was added to Boston's 40-man roster. Walter was optioned to Triple-A Worcester to begin the 2023 season. Through 13 games (12 starts), Walter struggled to a 6.28 ERA with 64 strikeouts across innings pitched. On June 22, Walter was added to Boston's active roster for the first time. He made his major-league debut that day, pitching innings in relief, allowing three runs. He was then optioned back to Worcester, recalled to Boston on July 4, and returned to Worcester on July 24. He was next recalled to Boston on August 9, and returned to Worcester two days later. Walter picked up his first MLB save on July 8, 2023, pitching 3 innings in a Red Sox victory over Oakland. Walter spent additional time with the Red Sox during September, when major-league rosters expanded to 28 players. Walter was named the winner of the Red Sox' Lou Gorman Award for 2023, recognizing a player who exhibited perseverance in overcoming obstacles to reach the major leagues. Walter was optioned to Triple-A Worcester prior to the start of the 2024 season. He did not appear for Boston due to a rotator cuff injury, and was designated for assignment following the acquisition of Lucas Sims on July 30, 2024. He was released by the Red Sox organization on August 2.

Houston Astros

On August 15, 2024, Walter signed a minor league contract with the

. He began the 2025 season with the Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys, posting a 3-1 record and 1.94 ERA with 41 strikeouts over 10 appearances (six starts). On May 20, 2025, the Astros selected Walter's contract, adding him to their active roster. He made his debut with the Astros that day, which was also his first major league

start Start can refer to multiple topics: * Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air * Starting lineup in sports * Track and field#Starts use in race, Starts use in sport race * S ...

. In that start, Walter tossed five scoreless innings against the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

at George M. Steinbrenner Field; however, the Rays rallied for 3–2 win and Walter received a no decision.

References

External links

Delaware Blue Hens bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walter, Brandon 1996 births Living people Sportspeople from New Castle, Delaware Baseball players from New Castle County, Delaware Major League Baseball pitchers Boston Red Sox players Houston Astros players Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens baseball players Gulf Coast Red Sox players Salem Red Sox players Greenville Drive players Portland Sea Dogs players Worcester Red Sox players Sugar Land Space Cowboys players