Name: Andrew Walling
Position: LHP
Born: October 29, 1999
Country: US
Bats/Throws: L/L
Height/Weight: 6’2″ 220lbs
How Acquired: Non Drafted Free Agent after 2022 Draft
Signed: August 1, 2022
Bonus:
Options Remaining: 3
Rule 5 Eligible: 2025
MiLB Free Agency: 2028
Stats
Pitcher Statcast
*Statcast data only available for FSL (2021-2023), AAA (2023), and isolated select games and locations.
| Pitch Type | Year | # of Pitches | Average Velocity | Max Velocity | Median Spin | VBreak | HBreak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sinker | 2023 | 6 | 94.4 | 96.2 | 2236 | 16 | 11 |
| 4-Seam Fastball | 2022 | 60 | 93.8 | 95.6 | 2224 | 15 | 3 |
| 4-Seam Fastball | 2023 | 317 | 94.4 | 97.6 | 2269 | 14 | 4 |
| Cutter | 2022 | 20 | 89.5 | 90.9 | 2357 | 29 | -1 |
| Cutter | 2023 | 223 | 88.1 | 94.3 | 2351 | 31 | -3 |
| Changeup | 2023 | 1 | 85.5 | 85.5 | 2295 | 30 | 5 |
| Slider | 2022 | 61 | 84.8 | 89.5 | 2286 | 32 | -4 |
| Slider | 2023 | 127 | 83.3 | 86.9 | 2410 | 39 | -13 |
| Curveball | 2022 | 2 | 77.6 | 78.0 | 2200 | 51 | -6 |
| Curveball | 2023 | 1 | 78.0 | 78.0 | 2290 | 47 | -12 |
Pitcher Tracking
*Pitch tracking data sourced from Statcast, broadcasts, and individual reports
| Pitch Type | Year | Velocity Low | Velocity High | Velocity Max | Games Tracked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FA | 2023 | 90 | 96 | 98 | 25 |
| FA | 2022 | 88 | 95 | 95 | 5 |
| FC | 2023 | 84 | 92 | 94 | 17 |
| SL | 2023 | 79 | 90 | 90 | 25 |
| SL | 2022 | 76 | 89 | 89 | 5 |
| CB | 2023 | 78 | 82 | 82 | 1 |
| CB | 2022 | 77 | 0 | 78 | 2 |
Prospect Rankings
Role: Middle Reliever
Risk: High – Walling only made it to Jersey Shore in 2023, and while his control was much better there, he still walked 6 per 9 in Clearwater. His stuff is major league caliber, but it isn’t overwhelming enough where results at each level won’t matter.
Summary: The Phillies signed Walling as an undrafted free agent out of the Draft League in 2022. He had barely pitched in college at all due to injuries, ineffectiveness, and the COVID shutdown. He showed a live arm last year, with his fastball sitting about 94 and mixing in a hard slider/cutter. In 2023, his fastball ticked up slightly, and he mostly sits 93 to 95 and can get up to 97. It is a fairly vertical fastball, but it doesn’t have elite levels of ride, and isn’t a big bat misser (22% whiff rate in Clearwater). The big change for Walling came in his offspeed stuff. His slider fully became a cutter that will sit mostly in the high 80s. He gets a decent number of swings and misses on it, but even more than his fastball, it is the pitch he throws for strikes. His bat misser is a low to mid 80s sweeper, a new pitch to his arsenal, replacing a big loopy curve he would throw rarely. The sweeper has about 10 inches more horizontal break than his cutter and just a little more drop, and like the cutter plays off his fastball up in the zone well. Over the course of the season Walling became more comfortable throwing the sweeper, with it surpassing the cutter in usage. Overall, Walling has the stuff to pitch out of a major league bullpen, though probably not late innings. He was absolutely devastating to lefties (.083/.243/.117) and given his arsenal, he is likely to always have some platoon proclivities, but righties didn’t completely crush him. His control was shaky with Clearwater, but not with Jersey Shore, and he will need to continue that trend to progress through the system.
2024 Outlook: Walling pitched a solid 16.2 innings with Jersey Shore, and probably will compete for a spot in Reading to open the year. If not, he should get there pretty quickly if he carries over his 2023 success.
Walling is another nondrafted free agent reliever. In his pro debut, his fastball was up to 96 but sat about 93. He threw a single curveball, but primarily used a slider as his secondary pitch. He does not have the big spin of some of the other relievers.
Role: Middle Reliever
Risk: High – Walling only made it to Jersey Shore in 2023, and while his control was much better there, he still walked 6 per 9 in Clearwater. His stuff is major league caliber, but it isn’t overwhelming enough where results at each level won’t matter.
Summary: The Phillies signed Walling as an undrafted free agent out of the Draft League in 2022. He had barely pitched in college at all due to injuries, ineffectiveness, and the COVID shutdown. He showed a live arm last year, with his fastball sitting about 94 and mixing in a hard slider/cutter. In 2023, his fastball ticked up slightly, and he mostly sits 93 to 95 and can get up to 97. It is a fairly vertical fastball, but it doesn’t have elite levels of ride, and isn’t a big bat misser (22% whiff rate in Clearwater). The big change for Walling came in his offspeed stuff. His slider fully became a cutter that will sit mostly in the high 80s. He gets a decent number of swings and misses on it, but even more than his fastball, it is the pitch he throws for strikes. His bat misser is a low to mid 80s sweeper, a new pitch to his arsenal, replacing a big loopy curve he would throw rarely. The sweeper has about 10 inches more horizontal break than his cutter and just a little more drop, and like the cutter plays off his fastball up in the zone well. Over the course of the season Walling became more comfortable throwing the sweeper, with it surpassing the cutter in usage. Overall, Walling has the stuff to pitch out of a major league bullpen, though probably not late innings. He was absolutely devastating to lefties (.083/.243/.117) and given his arsenal, he is likely to always have some platoon proclivities, but righties didn’t completely crush him. His control was shaky with Clearwater, but not with Jersey Shore, and he will need to continue that trend to progress through the system.
2024 Outlook: Walling pitched a solid 16.2 innings with Jersey Shore, and probably will compete for a spot in Reading to open the year. If not, he should get there pretty quickly if he carries over his 2023 success.
Walling is another nondrafted free agent reliever. In his pro debut, his fastball was up to 96 but sat about 93. He threw a single curveball, but primarily used a slider as his secondary pitch. He does not have the big spin of some of the other relievers.