Tyler Waldron was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 5th round of the 2010 draft, signing for a slot-level price of $173,500. He was coming off a junior year in which he put up a 5.90 ERA in 61 innings at Oregon State, with an 8.3 K/9 ratio and a 2.2 BB/9 ratio. Waldron began his professional career with the State College Spikes, and pitched 64.2 innings. In those innings he put up a 3.90 ERA, along with a 5.4 K/9 and a 1.5 BB/9 ratio, mostly working on his fastball command.
For more about Waldron, and all of the prospects in the farm system, check out the Pirates Prospects 2011 Prospect Guide.
I saw Waldron pitch in September against the Auburn Doubledays. He got off to a rough start, allowing a three run first inning, but settled down after that, allowing no runs in the next four innings, and striking out the side in the top of the 4th. Waldron ended up pitching five innings, allowing three runs on six hits, with no walks and four strikeouts. Below is video from the game, with Waldron going up against top Washington Nationals prospects like Carlos Perez and Gustavo Pierre.
Tim started Pirates Prospects in 2009 from his home in Virginia, which was 40 minutes from where Pedro Alvarez made his pro debut in Lynchburg. That year, the Lynchburg Hillcats won the Carolina League championship, and Pirates Prospects was born from Tim's reporting along the way. The site has grown over the years to include many more writers, and Tim has gone on to become a credentialed MLB reporter, producing Pirates Prospects each year, and will publish his 11th Prospect Guide this offseason. He has also served as the Pittsburgh Pirates correspondent for Baseball America since 2019. Behind the scenes, Tim is an avid music lover, and most of the money he gets paid to run this site goes to vinyl records.
