Andrew Wantz

Andrew Hunter Wantz (born October 13, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2021.

Andrew Wantz
Los Angeles Angels – No. 60
Pitcher
Born: (1995-10-13) October 13, 1995
Holly Springs, North Carolina, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
July 4, 2021, for the Los Angeles Angels
MLB statistics
(through 2023 season)
Win–loss record5–1
Earned run average3.85
Strikeouts123
Teams

Amateur career

A native of Holly Springs, North Carolina, Wantz played college baseball for the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. In 2016, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod Baseball League where he was named a league all-star.[1][2] Wantz was selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the seventh round of the 2018 MLB draft.[3][4][5]

Professional career

Wantz made his professional debut with the rookie-level Orem Owlz. He also played for the Single-A Burlington Bees, pitching to a cumulative 1–2 record and 2.74 ERA in 18 games. In 2019, Wantz split the season the High-A Inland Empire 66ers and the Double-A Mobile BayBears, posting a 5–9 record and 5.34 ERA with 112 strikeouts in 96.0 innings of work.[6]

Wantz did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[7] He was assigned to the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees to begin the 2021 season, where he recorded a 2.10 ERA in 8 appearances.

On July 3, 2021, Wantz was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[8] He made his MLB debut the following day, pitching an inning and a third of relief against the Baltimore Orioles.

On April 19, 2022, the Angels recalled Wantz from Triple-A Salt Lake and added him to the active roster.[9]

Wantz made his first major league starting appearance on June 27, 2022, at the last minute as an opener,[10] but was ejected for the first time in his career after one pitch in the second inning (and twelve pitches total), which hit Mariner Jesse Winker, triggering a bench-clearing brawl which resulted in eight players and both team managers being ejected, including Wantz and Winker.[11] Wantz threw a pitch behind the head of the second batter of the game, Julio Rodríguez, in the first inning.[12] The day after, Wantz was suspended three games by Major League Baseball, with his manager Phil Nevin receiving a ten-game suspension for ordering a beanball despite both teams being warned not to.[13]

References
  1. "Andrew Wantz". pointstreak.com. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  2. "2016 All-Star teams, Home Run Hitting Contest participants announced". capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  3. "Andrew Wantz". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  4. jeff.mills@greensboro.com, Jeff Mills. "UNCG's Andrew Moritz and Andrew Wantz picked in baseball draft". Greensboro News and Record.
  5. Bohnenkamp, John. "THE MONDAY HIVE: Bees' Wantz has impressive numbers in first season". Dallas County News.
  6. "Andrew Wantz College, Amateur & Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com.
  7. "2020 Minor League Season Canceled". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  8. "Angels Option Griffin Canning, Designate Scott Schebler". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  9. @LAAngelsPR (19 April 2022). "The Angels have made the following roster moves..." (Tweet). Retrieved 20 April 2022 – via Twitter.
  10. "Angels' Andrew Wantz: Gets look in opener role". CBSSports.com. RotoWire. 26 June 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  11. Valenzuela, Sarah (26 June 2022). "Angels and Mariners players throw punches in benches-clearing brawl". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  12. "Melee mayhem: Big brawl, 8 ejected, Angels top Mariners 2-1". ESPN.com. Associated Press. 26 June 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  13. "MLB suspends 12 players, coaches for roles in Seattle Mariners-Los Angeles Angels brawl; Phil Nevin gets 10 games". ESPN.com. Associated Press. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
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