Atlanta Braves’ Rookie Hurston Waldrup Looks Like Another Reliable Ace

Hurston Waldrep of the Atlanta Braves is looking like the best pitching prospect from the 2023 MLB Draft not named Paul Skenes.

Right now, the right-hander is doing a fine impersonation of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ young superstar – at a fraction of the cost and without blowing them away on fastballs.

Waldrep has won all three of his starts since being called up from the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers. The 23-year-old dominated the Cleveland Guardians on Friday night in his best outing yet. The right-hander allowed two hits and two walks over six scoreless innings, striking out seven and getting six other outs on ground balls.

BRISTOL, TN: Hurston Waldrep of the Atlanta Braves makes his first MLB start of 2025 at the MLB Speedway Classic presented by BulidSubmarines.com against the Cincinnati Reds at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 3. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

MLB Photos via Getty Images

“He’s a different guy than what I remember last year,” Braves manager Brian Snitker told reporters after watching Waldrep command a devastating split-finger pitch that more than complemented his upper-90s (mph) fastball and sharp slider.

A year ago, Waldrep was walloped in two starts for Atlanta, giving up 13 runs over seven innings for an unsightly 16.71 earned run average.

Nevertheless, Snitker praised the youngster then: “I thought he handled himself really well for the limited experience he has. His composure and all of that stuff was really good. He’s another young guy with a lot of upside.”

It was all upside in Cleveland. All his pitches had remarkable movement all night. He kept them in the strike zone, something that had been a challenge in the minors. All-star outfielder Steven Kwan got the only two hits off him.

“He was pitching off the slider/cutter (mix) and executed the split when needed,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “He landed his curveball early. That’s some impressive stuff.”

The Road To The Atlanta Braves

Waldrep grew up as a Braves fan in Thomasville, Ga., about 225 miles due south of Atlanta.

“I’ve been watching them since I was 6 years old, ever since I fell in love with baseball.” he told Mark Bowman of MLB.com in 2023. “I could name every Braves player and still can.”

The Braves became Waldrep fans upon seeing his impressive arsenal when he was at the University of Florida in 2023 after transferring from Southern Mississippi. He went 10-3 and struck out 156 in 101 2/3 innings as the Gators went to the College World Series. In three college seasons overall, he had a 17-5 record and fanned 312 over 208 innings.

“We love the pure stuff he has,” Braves assistant scouting director Ronit Shah told Bowman after the draft. “He’s athletic. He’s got three plus pitches, maybe four. The splitter might be the best secondary pitch in the whole Draft for us.”

Atlanta chose Waldrep at No. 24 overall and paid him a nice signing bonus of $2,997,500. That was more than $6 million less than the Pirates’ record $9.2 million paid to top pick Skenes.

While Skenes made his MLB debut last year after only 12 overpowering minor-league starts, Waldrep was merely mortal in 46 outings in the Braves’ farm system. He had only a 12-16 record and 3.61 ERA. The big problem was walks – 111 of them in 214 1/3 innings.

Atlanta Braves’ Wing Woes

Waldrep is with Atlanta as the best option after injuries totally decimated the Braves’ staff. The parade from the mound to the hospital began in spring training.

• Key setup reliever Joe Jimenez has not pitched since working a scoreless inning Oct. 9 in the 2024 NL Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. He had left knee surgery in November, returned to throwing this summer and was shut down indefinitely this month after experiencing soreness in the knee.
• Starter Reynaldo Lopez, 8-5 with a 1.99 ERA in 2024, left his first start this year after five innings on March 28. He had arthroscopic surgery on his shoulder and is not expected back until spring training.
• Right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver tore his ulnar collateral ligament in his ninth start of the year on May 28 against the Phiillies. He had Tommy John surgery and will be out until at least late in the 2026 season.

• The news on 2024 Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale is encouraging. He is due to make his second rehab start tomorrow for Gwinnett. After going 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA a year ago, the veteran lefty was off to a 5-4 start and 2.52 ERA, He fractured his left rib cage making a diving play against the New York Mets on June 18.
• Second-year starter Spencer Schwellenbach is out until next spring with a fractured right elbow. He had a 7-4 record and 3.09 ERA when he was hurt while striking out 12 Mets in his fourth straight win on June 28.
• Right-hander Grant Holmes made 21 starts until experiencing elbow inflammation in late July. On Aug. 6, he announced he will try to rehab the elbow instead of having surgery. He’s out until next spring.

Along with injuries to key offensive players, it turned a club that was expected to contend for postseason play into a fourth-place team today with a 54-68 record.

While short on pitching now, the Braves have some other nice pitching prospects for 2026, including reliever Hayden Harris.

Waldrep’s Atlanta Braves Future

The right-hander has top-of-the-rotation stuff. Even if all those injured pitchers return, Waldrep should be in the mix next year if …

• He keeps throwing strikes.
• He stays healthy.

Waldrep has walked five in 17 innings since being called up. That’s far better than the 50 passes he allowed in 91 2/3 innings at Gwinnett.

Split-finger pitchers often have incredible success – when they are healthy. The pitch often causes undue stress on the arm and has ruined many careers. Waldrep went on the injured list in June of 2024 with right elbow inflammation but has been OK since.

The Braves’ great John Smoltz had Tommy John surgery midway through his Hall of Fame career after throwing the pitch a lot. He came back as good as new.

As long as a healthy Hurston Waldrep’s pitches sink, his career with the Atlanta Braves could bounce pretty high.