Andrew Wayne Walters (born December 8, 2000) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Amateur career

Walters grew up in Palm Bay, Florida and attended Bayside High School. Walters began his college baseball career at Eastern Florida State College (EFSC) and played one season, which was cut short due to Covid-19 and did not count towards his collegiate eligibility. In 2021, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the Wareham Gatemen of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

. He transferred to Miami after his one season at EFSC. Walters made 19 appearances and had a 1.46 ERA with 36 strikeouts and nine walks in his first season with the Hurricanes. He was named Miami's closer entering his redshirt sophomore season and was named first-team All-

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

(ACC) after leading the conference with 14 saves. Walters was selected in the 18th round of the

2022 Major League Baseball draft The 2022 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft took place on July 17–19, 2022, in Los Angeles. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. The draft order was based on the reverse order of the 2021 ...

by the Baltimore Orioles, but opted to return to Miami for his redshirt junior season. He was named a consensus first-team All-American in 2023 after finishing the season with a 4-0, 12 saves, and 1.21 ERA with 72 strikeouts in innings pitched over 28 appearances.

Professional career

Walters was selected by the Cleveland Guardians in the second round, with the 62nd overall pick in the

2023 Major League Baseball draft The 2023 Major League Baseball draft took place on July 9–11, 2023, in Seattle. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. For the first time, a draft lottery was used to set a portion of the draft order. The first six selections ...

. On July 22, 2023, Walters signed with Cleveland for a below slot deal worth $955,275. He made his professional debut in 2024 with the Double–A Akron RubberDucks. In 50 appearances split between Akron and the Triple–A

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, mercha ...

, Walters compiled a 4–0 record and 2.32 ERA with 79 strikeouts and 8 saves over innings pitched. On September 12, 2024, Walters was 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 ...

and promoted to the major leagues for the first time.

Personal life

Walters' parents were college athletes at Florida Tech with his father playing basketball and his mother playing softball. His uncle, Matt Walters, played college football at Miami and was a starting defensive tackle on the Hurricanes' 2001 National Championship team before playing in the NFL for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

References

External links

Eastern Florida State College Titans bioMiami Hurricanes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walters, Andrew 2000 births Living people All-American college baseball players Akron RubberDucks players Baseball players from Florida Cleveland Guardians players Columbus Clippers players EFSC Titans baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers Miami Hurricanes baseball players People from Palm Bay, Florida Wareham Gatemen players