Andrew Lindsey: From Backyard Boy to Major League Draft Pick

Andrew Lindsey pitching for Tennessee (photo courtesy of Cayce Smith/Tennessee Athletics)

“I look back at this year, and it still doesn’t feel real.”

That’s what Tampa Bay Rays minor league pitcher Andrew Lindsey said to me as we were getting up from our high-top table at The Waverly Café where we had met to talk about his journey from a small-town kid to a fifth-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft.

Lindsey grew up in New Johnsonville, Tenn., a town located right on the Tennessee River. His love for baseball started at an early age when he would play in the backyard with his big brother Alex and four friends. He described it as being similar to “Sandlot.”

“We played every game under the sun, some games we made up,” Lindsey said. “We played laser tag with no lasers. It was always competitive in the backyard, and I was the youngest. We played baseball with a wood bat and tennis balls in between two houses so we didn’t break any windows.”

From there, he continued to play. One of the main reasons he enjoyed it was because it was something he got to do with his brother and his dad Mark. Alex was Lindsey’s catcher growing up, and Mark was his throwing partner. Even now, Lindsey still goes to the baseball field at the New Johnsonville City Park to play catch with his dad.

Although he was homeschooled, Lindsey got to play baseball in junior high for the Lakeview Yellow Jackets and in high school for the Waverly Central Tigers. His high school assistant coach Will Cripps knew that Lindsey had what it took to play at the next level.

“He was supremely talented in high school,” Cripps said. “There’s not a lot of guys in high school throwing 92-93. It was evident that his arm talent was a little different than everyone else’s.”

After his time as a Waverly Tiger, Lindsey made his way to Walters State Community College, a junior college known for its baseball program. He played there for two years with the second being the year of the Covid pandemic.

Following his time at Walters State and still in the thick of the pandemic, Lindsey went to UNC Charlotte, but he would only stay for a year before returning home to New Johnsonville. He was struggling with some personal issues and felt that it was time to hang up his cleats.

However, his departure from the game was not destined to last long as he ended up the coach of a travel team full of 13-year-olds. It was this group and their parents that helped Lindsey find his love for baseball again.

“Coaching those 13-year-olds brought me back to when I was 13 playing which brought me back to just enjoying the game for what it was,” Lindsey said. “There was no money involved. There were no cameras or news articles being written. It was just a bunch of guys that just wanted to play the game and be with their friends.”

When he found this renewed passion for the game, Lindsey decided to call Dave Shelton, his head coach from Walters State, to see what his options were for playing again. Shelton sent Lindsey to the Appalachian League.

From there, Lindsey’s life turned into a whirlwind. He reported to the Kingsport Axmen on July 15^th, threw for the first time on the 16^th, talked to the University of Tennessee on the 18^th or 19^th, committed around a week later, and was on campus in the middle of August.

“I never thought I could play Power 5, much less at the University of Tennessee,” Lindsey said.

Lindsey excelled as a Vol, moving from the bullpen to a starting role in the middle of the season. He finished 2023 with a 2.90 earned run average, 73 strikeouts, and only a .225 batting average against.

His success was rewarded in June as he was drafted by the Miami Marlins in the fifth round (146^th overall). In November, he was traded to the Rays and is set to report to Spring Training in Port Charlotte, Fla., at the end of January.

One might think the newfound fame would have gone to Lindsey’s head, but instead, he has remained humble and does what he can to help baseball players in the community, particularly those at his alma mater. He has three guys from the high school team that he works out with on a weekly basis.

When asked why he puts such an emphasis on giving back, Lindsey talked about former big league pitcher Daniel Webb, who lived in Waverly and died tragically in 2017.

“I wish I had been bold enough to talk to Daniel Webb and pick his brain more, and I know I would have been a lot better for it,” Lindsey said. “So with some of the high school guys, I know that they’re not going to want to bother me, so instead of them bothering me, I try to bother them and just help them navigate what I didn’t really understand when I was their age. I didn’t have any foreknowledge of what to look for and what the coaches were looking for in me, so I just want to help them make better decisions and be better prepared.”

Cripps, now the head coach of the Tigers, is thankful for the time that Lindsey puts in with the high school players, as well as for the things that he has been able to teach him regarding practices and drills he learned while at Walters State, UNC Charlotte, and Tennessee.

“Andrew is an invaluable part of the past of Waverly baseball,” Cripps said, “and he’s going to be an invaluable part of the future of Waverly baseball. And we’re very happy to have him back around our program.”

Lindsey made sure that he didn’t take the credit for the success he has had in baseball. Instead, he gives all glory to God for giving him the talent, as well as placing the people in his life that have helped him get to where he is today.

“At the end of the day, everything that you could attribute to me has been a product of somebody else’s effort,” Lindsey said. “If you read the Word, it says that your life is really not your own to begin with, so I’m just trying to be a good steward of what God has given me, and fortunately, that gives me a platform so I can also influence others. It’s not by might or my understanding because I’m genuinely not that smart, but I had a lot of help. And I think my mom and dad definitely instilled that work ethic as well as the Word in me, so a lot of it’s not me.”

Lindsey’s humility and love for God are obvious to everyone around him. As he continues on his professional journey, he will be able to use his story to witness to the goodness of the Lord.

“God blessed him with the ability to do what he does, and that’s evident,” Cripps said. “I think now God’s given him a pathway and a direction and really a table to speak from, you know, when he has the ability to come back and talk to our kids because he’s grounded in his faith. And when you’re grounded in your faith, you can’t really be wrong because he’s following the path that the Lord has set him on.”