Tony Vitello says Andrew Lindsey has become an MLB Draft pick

Tennessee won its series opener against Kentucky on Friday night 10-6, riding an excellent start on the mound by Andrew Lindsey, an MLB draft pick in the eyes of his coach.

Tony Vitello praised his junior right-hander following the game, with the Volunteers adding a key win to their resume as the postseason fast approaches.

“It’s crazy. He’s turned himself into a draft pick,” Vitello said. “It was a guy that was an in-state guy that’s a good student that likes the University of Tennessee and let’s give this guy a chance because he throws strikes.”

Lindsey has an interesting backstory. He started off playing for Walters State CC from 2019-20, helping lead the Senators to the NJCAA DI JUCO World Series as a freshman.

Then he headed to Charlotte, where he made 12 starts on the mound in 2021. He sat out in 2022 due to personal reasons and ended up coaching a 13-year-old youth team before getting the itch to pitch again.

Eventually, Vitello and his staff heard enough from old teams that had watched him pitch that they gave Lindsey a shot. Now Andrew Lindsey is a likely MLB Draft pick.

“Those guys kind of marketed him as much as you can, like, ‘I’m telling you, this guy wins games for us,'” Vitello said.

Lindsey went 6.2 innings against Kentucky in the 10-6 win on Friday, allowing six hits and three runs. He struck out four batters. It wasn’t a perfect start, but it was enough to give Tennessee an important resume-building win.

Vitello has been nothing but pleased with his junior pitcher.

“He’s always thrown strikes for us,” Vitello said. “He’s always been a good guy to have around. But the big-picture thing is he’s gone from, ‘Yeah, let’s give this guy a chance,’ to he’s a draft pick. He can go get 96, 97. It’s a little different look. He’s gotten a lot better in a lot of different areas.”

Kentucky had its chances in the series opener, but Lindsey showed up when it mattered most.

“To come in and kind of slam it shut so we can move on to the next thing was big,” Vitello said. “I know in the stands you might be thinking you score double-digit runs and this, that and the other, there’s no rules here. This is a pretty good battle and both teams went out there and did the best they could with whatever situations they were, and he certainly capped it off by doing the best he could with that opportunity.”