The Braves have never been hesitant to push their top prospects through the minors extraordinarily quickly, and they are not changing their M.O. for top prospect Hurston Waldrep. Per Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal Constitution, the 2023 first-round pick has received the call and is scheduled to start for the Braves tomorrow against the Nationals.
BREAKING: Hurston Waldrep is here. He’s starting tomorrow.
— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) June 8, 2024
From a stuff perspective, Hurston Waldrep has all the tools to be a staple in Atlanta’s rotation for many years to come. His heater sits in the mid-90s, but the pitch that turns heads is the splitter. It is not only one of the most devastating pitches in the minors, it is one of the most devastating pitches in all of baseball, generating whiffs at an alarming rate. Waldrep also mixes in a slider, which has become a much more reliable offering for him this season.
Since his first start of the 2024 campaign, in which he gave up seven runs, Waldrep hasn’t allowed more than three runs in nine straight outings. He’s allowed two or fewer runs in eight of his last nine starts, and in his last four starts, he has 34 strikeouts to just four walks.
The Braves have been desperately searching for an answer to the back of their rotation for as long as I can remember. They’ve tried out several different prospects this season, and to this point, nobody has run with the job. The hope is that Hurston Waldrep changes that, beginning tomorrow afternoon.
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Photo: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
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