Hurricanes closer Andrew Walters picked on first night of MLB draft
More people traveled to the moon than scored on Andrew Walters during the star closer’s tenure with the Hurricanes.
Walters’ celebrated career at Miami likely came to an end as the Cleveland Guardians picked him with the 62nd pick in the MLB draft on Sunday night. He follows Yohandy Morales as the second Hurricane picked in this year’s draft.
“I do think he’s a guy, absolutely, that can go all the way,” former Miami coach Gino DiMare said.
The Baltimore Orioles picked Walters in the 2022 draft, and he elected to return to UM. But the 62nd overall pick has a slot value of $1,273,700, and the junior is unlikely to return.
Walters transferred to Miami after one season at Eastern Florida State and quickly established himself as a dominant reliever. He posted a 1.46 ERA in 24 2/3 innings in 2021.
In his second season at UM, Walters took over the closer role for Carson Palmquist. He maintained his high standard, notching a 1.65 ERA with 14 saves. He earned All-American honors from five different publications.
After returning to Miami for the 2023 campaign, Walters had another strong season. He had a 1.21 ERA with 12 saves and was named an All-American by Collegiate Baseball, ABCA/Rawlings, Perfect Game and the NCBWA.
“Very consistent, which is what you want in a closer,” DiMare said. “His demeanor never changed. Never got too high, never got too low.”
Walters’ fastball has been his top pitch, frequently throwing it in the mid to high 90s. The dominant fastball has helped him strike out 170 batters in 102 innings at UM.
“I think your biggest worry was not to use too much because you knew you could go to him,” DiMare said. “You wanted to go to him. … He’s a guy that makes a look a coach look really good.”
Walters worked on developing his slider during this season, helping position him better in this year’s draft.
“It starts with (the fastball) and he does have a fastball that is a very quality pitch,” DiMare said. “The breaking ball just needs to get more consistent. If he can get it more consistent, he can move up a lot and move up quickly.”