Cole Robert Waites (born June 10, 1998) 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, ...
in the
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
organization. He 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, ...
at the
University of West Alabama
The University of West Alabama (UWA) is a public university in Livingston, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1835, the school began as a church-supported school for young women called "Livingston Female Academy".
The university serves students ...
, and was drafted by the Giants in the 18th round of the
2019 MLB draft
The 2019 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 3 to 5, 2019. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2018 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks ...
. He made his
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) debut in 2022.
Amateur career
Waites attended
Archer High School
Archer High School is a public high school near Lawrenceville, Georgia, United States. It is operated by Gwinnett County Public Schools. It is named after Gwinnett County teacher and coach Benjamin Vernon Archer.
The school officially opened on ...
in
Lawrenceville, Georgia
Lawrenceville is a city in and the county seat of Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. It is a suburb of Atlanta, located approximately northeast of downtown. It was incorporated on December 15, 1821. As of the 2020 census, the populatio ...
. He 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, ...
, primarily as a starter, at the
University of West Alabama
The University of West Alabama (UWA) is a public university in Livingston, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1835, the school began as a church-supported school for young women called "Livingston Female Academy".
The university serves students ...
, where his 118 strikeouts as a junior led the
Gulf South Conference
The Gulf South Conference (GSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the Southeastern United States.
History
Originally known as the ...
.
He was drafted by the
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
in the 18th round of the
2019 Major League Baseball draft
The 2019 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 3 to 5, 2019. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2018 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks ...
, and signed for a
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 ...
of $100,000.
Professional career
2019-21
Waites made his professional debut in 2019 with the
Arizona League Giants
The Arizona Complex League Giants are a professional baseball team competing as a Rookie-level affiliate of the San Francisco Giants in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Scottsdale Stadium in Sc ...
. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the
minor league
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...
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 ...
.
Waites returned in 2021 after missing most of the season recovering from knee surgery for
torn meniscus to pitch for the
Arizona Complex League Giants
The Arizona Complex League Giants are a professional baseball team competing as a Rookie-level affiliate of the San Francisco Giants in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Scottsdale Stadium in Sc ...
and
San Jose Giants
The San Jose Giants are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Located in San Jose, California, the Giants play their home games at Excite Ballpark.
Games
San Jose Giants g ...
.
In 2021 as a reliever he was a combined 2-0 with two saves and an 0.68 ERA, as in 13.1 innings he gave up one hit and struck out 31 batters.
After the season, he pitched in the
Arizona Fall League
The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...
.
2022
Waites started 2022 with the
Eugene Emeralds
The Eugene Emeralds (nicknamed the Ems) are a Minor League Baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Eugene, Oregon. The Emeralds are members of the Northwest League and the High-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Eugene plays ...
. He was then promoted to the
Richmond Flying Squirrels
The Richmond Flying Squirrels are a Minor League Baseball team based in Richmond, Virginia. The team, which is a part of the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants major league club, and plays at The Diamond. Th ...
and
Sacramento River Cats
The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland ...
, pitching out of the bullpen.
On September 12, 2022, the Giants selected Waites' contract and promoted him to the major leagues.
Between the three minor league teams in 2022 he was 4-3 with a 1.94 ERA as in 41.2 innings he gave up 25 hits and had 76 strikeouts.
In his minor league career through his 2022 call-up, in 71.1 innings he had a 45.1% strikeout rate (averaging 16.9 strikeouts per 9 innings) and 2.78 ERA, with a 13.8% walk rate.
In 2022 with the Giants he was 0-0 with a 3.18 ERA in seven relief appearances, in which he pitched 5.2 innings.
2023
Waites was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento to begin the 2023 season. On July 18, 2023, he was placed on the 60-day injured list with a right elbow sprain. On September 13, Waites was ruled out for 12–to–15 months after undergoing
Tommy John surgery
Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...
to repair his
ulnar collateral ligament Ulnar collateral ligament (or UCL) may refer to:
* Ulnar carpal collateral ligament
* Ulnar collateral ligament of elbow joint
The ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) or internal lateral ligament is a thick triangular ligament at the medial aspec ...
. The procedure ended his 2023 season, and ruled him out for the entirety of the 2024 season as well. In 3 appearances for the Giants in 2023, he struggled to a 15.43 ERA with 2 strikeouts in innings of work. He was non-tendered and became a free agent on November 17.
On November 26, 2023, Waites re–signed with the Giants organization on a minor league contract.
Pitching style
Waites relies primarily on a mid-90s
fastball
The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...
that has reached 100 mph, and an above-average
slider.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waites, Cole
1998 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Lawrenceville, Georgia
Baseball players from Gwinnett County, Georgia
Major League Baseball pitchers
San Francisco Giants players
West Alabama Tigers baseball players
Arizona League Giants players
Arizona Complex League Giants players
San Jose Giants players
Eugene Emeralds players
Richmond Flying Squirrels players
Sacramento River Cats players
Scottsdale Scorpions players