Pitched four seasons at the University of Nebraska and finished ranked in the top 10 of several Cornhusker all-time lists, including innings pitched (third, 300.1), strikeouts (fourth, 253), starts (tied-fifth, 43) and wins (tied-eighth, 21)...With the encouragement of the Padres in 2021, he pushed the usage rate on his knuckler to over 70%, striking out 103 and walking just 35 in 103.2 regular season innings. Said Waldron to Sports Illustrated's Emma Baccellieri during Spring 2023: ¡°I didn¡¯t really realize how big of a commitment it was...but fortunately it¡¯s worked out." The Padres set up Waldron on a few Zooms and phone calls with fellow knuckleballers Tim Wakefield and R.A. Dickey in 2022: ¡°They want to see that pitch at the highest level again..so they have that interest in it."
2024
In his first full MLB season, his 10 total quality starts tied with Joe Musgrove for third-most in the SD rotation, trailing only Dylan Cease (16) and Michael King (14)...Broke camp with SD after leading all SD hurlers with 1.35 Spring ERA across 13.1 IP...he struck out 11 and walked none...Prior to being designated as one of SD's three Seoul Series extras, he followed starter Dylan Cease with allowing one unearned run in 3.1 innings vs. the LG Twins on March 18 in the second of two exhibition games in Korea...Pregame before the Opening Series at Petco Park on Thurs, March 28, Manager Mike Shildt announced Waldron cracked the Padres rotation as SD's No. 5 starter...he made his season debut on April 1 vs. STL (L, 4.0 IP, 9 H, 4 ER)...After a two-hour, 15-minute rain delay, Waldron limited the Dodgers to one run on three hits and a career-high four walks on April 13 at Dodger Stadium in SD's 5-2 defeat...After receiving five total runs of support across his first 4 starts from April 1-19, he received five runs and his second MLB victory behind his second career quality start on April 24 @ COL in SD¡¯s 5-2 win¡Waldron received all five runs of support in the win after the club scored a total of seven runs in his previous four starts...May 5 at Chase Field, he allowed then-career highs in runs (8) and earned runs (7), while his 3.0 IP marked the shortest outing of his career (as a starter or reliever)...his 65 total pitches were the second fewest he's thrown, trailing just his 62 in his MLB debut on June 24, 2023 vs. WSH...Across his next 18 starts from May 11-July 24, he ranked second among all qualifying NL starters in IP (84.2), fourth in WHIP (0.99), fifth in ERA (2.76), opponents¡¯ AVG (.210), base runners allowed/9 IP (9.46) and ninth in HR/9 IP (0.85)...Strung together a nine-start streak allowing two ER-or-fewer across 5.0+ IP from May 11-June 24, tied for the second longest such streak of any NL hurler with Chris Sale and Paul Skenes, trailing only Zack Wheeler¡¯s 11¡he¡¯s also one of eight Padres pitchers to ever have such a streak, with Blake Snell¡¯s 13 during his Cy Young 2013 season being the most recent¡Mat Latos¡¯ 15 in 2010 are the most consecutive such starts in SD history...After setting a franchise record allowing 1+ HR in eight straight appearances to begin his ML career in ¡¯23, and extending that streak to nine in his ¡®24 debut April 1 vs. STL, Waldron went homer-free in six straight appearances from May 17-June 14... he posted a 1.96 HR/9 rate as a rookie in ¡¯23, and held 0.71 HR/9 through his first 16 starts in ¡¯24 from April 1-July 24...May 11 vs. LAD, allowed two runs on two hits in SD's 5-0 defeat...it was the third of four consecutive outings by SD starting pitchers allowing two hits-or-fewer across at least 5.0 IP...the Padres became the first team to string together four consecutive such starts since at least 1893 (the first season the current mound distance was established)...Received exactly a third of his run support (25 of 75) across two outings (13 on June 8 vs. AZ and 12 on July 24 @ WSH)... the 13 runs on June 8 vs. AZ were the most an SD hurler had received since Sean Manaea also got 13 runs exactly two years prior on June 8, 2022 vs. NYM...On the flip side, he received three runs of support-or-fewer in 20 of his 26 starts, including one run of support-or-fewer 12 times and zero runs on four occasions. (May 11 vs. LAD, June 30 @ BOS, July 19 @ CLE and Aug 21 vs. MIN)...His first inning strikeout of Francisco Lindor on June 14 @ Citi Field marked his 100th career punchout...His first two career starts vs. WSH came exactly a year apart, making his MLB debut vs. the Nats on June 24, 2023, and then making his 24th big league appearance and 22nd start vs. WSH on June 24, 2024...Had his streak of six consecutive quality starts snapped Sunday, June 30 at Fenway Park, the longest QS start streak by an SD hurler in ¡¯24...Started the first game after the All-Star break for SD @ CLE, the team that traded him to SD as a PTBNL in the Mike Clevinger deal¡he was tagged with the loss in SD¡¯s in SD¡¯s eventual 7-0 defeat on July 19 despite twirling 6.0 innings of one-run ball with five SO and no BB...The Padres won four consecutive starts of his from July 19-Aug. 10 before losing both of his final two starts on Aug. 16 @ COL and Aug. 21 vs. MIN¡went 0-2 and allowed 17 ER (15.30 ERA) on 21 hits across 10.0 IP in those final two starts before being optioned to Triple-A El Paso on Aug. 22...Made three September starts for the Chihuahuas, going 5.0 innings in all three contests with a combined 1-0 record, 4.80 ERA (8 ER, 15.0 IP) and 13 strikeouts against three walks...Recalled for the regular season finale Sept. 29 and made his lone relief appearance of the year (4.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 R) on 94 pitches thrown, allowing SD to set their pitching plans for the upcoming Wild Card round...Ranked 20th among all NL starters (min. 25 starts) and third on the SD staff in pitches per game (90.7)...Waldron entered 2025 having thrown the third-most knuckleballs (1,116) in the Statcast era (since 2015), trailing only R.A. Dickey (7,465) and Steven Wright (3,737)...In ¡®24, he threw 936 knuckleballs while the rest of MLB threw 35...Opponents hit .246 (50-for-203) with a .227 xBA against the knuckler...68 of his 133 strikeouts and a 27.5 whiff rate came against the knuckler...Along with his sweeper (19.8% usage), he threw the second-most breaking balls in the Majors (1,422) behind only rotation-mate Dylan Cease (1,753)...rounding out the top five were Brady Singer (1,350), Logan Gilbert (1,331) and Jack Flaherty (1,306)...Ranked in the 71st percentile and above in hard-hit rate (35.0%, 79th), BB rate (6.4%, 75th) and average exit velocity (88.1 mph, 71st).
2023
The right-hander pitched exclusively at the Triple-A level for the first time in his career before making his Major League debut with SD ¡ he made eight appearances (six starts) for the Padres, going 1-3 with a 4.35 ERA (20 ER, 41. IP), 1.23 WHIP and .244 opponents¡¯ AVG. At the time of his call-up to the big leagues on June 24, he had struck out 75 Triple-A batters across 66.2 IP (10.1 SO/9 IP ratio) across his 14 appearances (12 starts). Faced off against WSH in his ML debut on June 24 and allowed four hits (two HR) across 4.2 IP in SD¡¯s 2-0 defeat ¡ it was the only appearance in which he allowed multiple HR, but he allowed one HR in all seven of his other outings ... the eight straight appearances with one-plus HR allowed was the longest home run streak by any Padre to start their career. Was recalled from ELP five times throughout the season ¡ for the Chihuahuas, he went 2-10 with a 7.31 ERA (75 ER, 92.1 IP) with 99 SO against 30 walks. The Padres were on the losing end in each of his first five appearances before going 3-0 in all three of his September appearances (all starts) ¡ earned his first ML victory on Sept. 16 @ OAK behind 5.1 IP of two-run ball in SD¡¯s 5-2 victory ¡ struck out a career-high nine hitters in SD¡¯s 4-2 victory on Sept. 22 vs. STL but did not factor into the winning decision ¡ tossed a career-high 6.0 IP on Sept. 27 @ SF in his final outing of the campaign but did not factor into SD¡¯s 5-2 victory. In his six starts, he went 1-3 with a 4.55 ERA (16 ER, 31.2 IP), 24 SO, 11 walks and a .233 opponents¡¯ AVG ... in his two relief outings, he posted a 3.72 ERA (four ER, 9.2 IP) with a .275 AVG against. Limited RHH to a .224 clip (19-85) while LHH batted .267 (20-75), but six of his nine HR allowed came vs. the right side. With no runners on base, opposing batters hit .284 (29- 102) ¡ with RISP, he limited them to a .185 AVG (5-27) and with RISP/two out, they hit .214 (3-14). Features a knuckleball, throwing the pitch 181 times (26.9%) with a .242 opponent clip (8-33) ... his 181 pitches thrown with his knuckle were the most of any player in ¡®23 and the most of any pitcher in a season since Steven Wright threw 719 in 2018 ... they're also the most knuckleballs thrown in a season by any Padre (since Statcast started tracking pitches in 2008). Also relied on a sinker (23.5%), four-seam fastball (20.7%), slider (15.9%) and cutter (13.1%).
2022
Split his third professional season between Double-A San Antonio (nine GS) and Triple-A El Paso (16 GS), combining to go 5-10 at with a 6.26 ERA (79 ER/113.2 IP) across 25 starts....Notched career bests in starts (25), innings pitched (113.2)and wins (5).... Began the season at Double-A San Antonio, where he pitched to a 2.84 ERA (14 ER, 44.1 IP) and a 2-1 record across nine starts before ascending to Triple-A El Paso on June 28....Turned in his best marks in May with SA, when he posted a 1.31 ERA (3 ER, 20.2 IP) and fanned 17 while allowing just three walks for a 5.67 K/BB across four starts with the Missions....Did not allow an earned run over 20.0 innings (four GS) from May 12 to June 23, compiling a 1-0 record with 15 strikeouts against just a trio of walks while limiting the opposition to a.191 average during the span....Spent the balance of the season going 3-9 with a 8.44 ERA(65 ER/69.1 IP) in his first stint at Triple-A....Ranked among the top El Paso arms in starts (third, 16),innings pitched (sixth, 69.1) and strikeouts (eighth, 58)....Also paced El Paso in losses (nine) and hit batters (nine) and ranked third in hits allowed (92) and earned runs (65)....Allowed 14 ER in 2022, three shy of the 11 he allowed in his first two seasons in 2019 & '21.
2021
In his first season in SD's system, split the campaign between Fort Wayne (A) and San Antonio (AA), striking out 103 and walking just 35 across 103.2 IP and 20 starts... Began the season with FW, compiling a 3-4 record and 3.24 ERA (26 ER, 72.1 IP) to go along with 72 strikeouts, 19 BB and a .255 opp. AVG across 13 starts... Allowed 2 ER-or-fewer in 10 of his 13 starts and 1-or-fewer five times...reached the 5.0-inning plateau in 11 starts, the 6.0-inning mark six times and worked into the 7th inning or later on three occasions... Tossed a career-high 8.0 innings in his TinCaps' finale on July 14 at West Michigan, allowing just one unearned run on four hits while tying his career-high with eight punchouts (3x)... Promoted to SA on July 19 and made seven starts for the Missions, going 0-4 with a 6.61 ERA (23 ER, 31.1 IP)... Tossed 6.0 innings in each of his first three starts with SA, going 0-2 with a 4.00 ERA (8 ER, 18.0 IP)...went 0-2 with a 10.13 ERA (15 ER, 13.1 IP) over his final four starts... Made five Arizona Fall League relief appearances for the Peoria Javelinas following the season, allowing 3 ER, across 9.0 IP (3.00 ERA) with 8 SO and 1 BB.
