Bradenton Marauders left-handed pitcher Brandon Waddell has been promoted to Altoona, and will start for the Curve on Wednesday. Fellow left-hander Stephen Tarpley is returning to the Bradenton rotation this week, and to make room, the Pirates are moving Waddell up. Jason Creasy would have been in line to start for Altoona on Wednesday. No word yet if he will be the guy moving out of the rotation, or if someone else would get the bump, although Creasy has been struggling and is in his second year at the level.
I wrote earlier today about how Waddell didn’t look challenged at all in A-ball, and could be heading on the Steven Brault path, by moving quickly through the system. I didn’t expect it to be this quick, as I was expecting (hoping) to see him this Wednesday in Bradenton. This promotion was definitely earned, as Waddell has shown to be an advanced pitcher.
It will be interesting to see how he fares in Altoona. He’s going to get almost an entire season at the level, which will be more than Brault received last year. Brault was moved up in late June, then spent some time in the Arizona Fall League, and made the Indianapolis rotation this year. Waddell will get more time at the higher level, which means we could see him in Indianapolis at the start of the 2017 season, with a shot at the majors that year.
Even if that doesn’t happen, the Pirates have already aggressively promoted Waddell. He’s been in pro ball for less than a year, is only 21 years old out of college, and already he’s in Double-A. That’s very impressive, and very aggressive. And Waddell deserves it with the way he has pitched.
