Hurston Waldrep

Hurston Waldrep
Atlanta Braves – No. 64
Pitcher
Born: (2002-03-01) March 1, 2002
Cairo, Georgia, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 9, 2024, for the Atlanta Braves
MLB statistics
(through 2025 season)
Win–loss record6–2
Earned run average4.41
Strikeouts58
Stats at Baseball Reference 
Teams
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing the  United States
Haarlem Baseball Week
2022 Team

Hurston Wayne Waldrep (born March 1, 2002) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2024.

Amateur career

Waldrep attended Thomasville High School in Thomasville, Georgia, where he played on their baseball team as a pitcher and on their football team as a placekicker and punter.[1] He earned All-State honors in both sports.[2] He went unselected in the shortened 2020 Major League Baseball draft and enrolled at the University of Southern Mississippi to play college baseball.[3]

As a freshman for the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles in 2021, Waldrep pitched 16+1⁄3 innings in relief and had a 1–0 win–loss record with a 3.31 earned run average (ERA) and 16 strikeouts.[4] For the 2022 season, he became Southern Mississippi's Sunday starter.[5] Over 17 starts, he went 6–2 with a 3.20 ERA, 140 strikeouts, and 33 walks over 90 innings.[6]

After the season, Waldrep entered the transfer portal[7][8] and transferred to the University of Florida.[9] That summer, he played with the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.[10][11] He entered the 2023 season as a top prospect for the upcoming MLB draft.[12] For the Florida Gators that season, he started 19 games and went 10–3 with a 4.16 ERA and 156 strikeouts over 101+2⁄3 innings.[13]

Professional career

The Atlanta Braves selected Waldrep in the first round, with the 24th overall pick, in the 2023 Major League Baseball draft.[14][15] On July 13, Waldrep signed with the Braves for a deal worth $2,997,500.[16][17] He made his professional debut with the Single-A Augusta GreenJackets, striking out eight in a single three-inning start,[18][19] before earning a promotion to the High-A Rome Braves.[20] In Rome, Waldrep threw twelve innings and seventeen strikeouts,[21] leading to his promotion to the Double-A Mississippi Braves.[22][23] With Mississippi, he had a 2.70 ERA and 11 strikeouts in ten innings.[24] On September 23, 2023, Waldrep made his first appearance at the Triple–A level, with the Gwinnett Stripers, recording five strikeouts over four scoreless innings.[25][26]

Prior to the 2024 regular season, Waldrep was invited to spring training.[27] He began the season at Double-A Mississippi.[28] On June 1, he was promoted to Triple-A Gwinnett.[29] Waldrep made a total of 19 minor league starts in 2024 and went 5-7 with a 3.47 ERA and 92 strikeouts over 91+2⁄3 innings.[30]

On June 9, 2024, Waldrep was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[31] He made his MLB debut the same day versus the Washington Nationals and allowed seven runs on four hits and four walks along with one strikeout, that of Eddie Rosario, in an 8-5 Braves loss.[32] Across two starts during his rookie campaign, Waldrep struggled to an 0-1 record and 16.71 ERA with three strikeouts over seven innings of work.

Waldrep was optioned to Gwinnett to begin the 2025 season.[33] He started 19 games for Gwinnett during the season and went 7-8 with a 4.42 ERA.[34] The Braves recalled Waldrep to the major leagues on August 3.[35] That same day, Waldrep earned his first career win in the Speedway Classic versus the Cincinnati Reds in a 4-2 Braves victory in which he pitched 5+2⁄3 innings and gave up one run.[36] He was scheduled to start for Gwinnett on that day, but was temporarily promoted as Atlanta's 27th man when the Speedway Classic was suspended due to rain the previous day.[37] Waldrep became the first pitcher credited with a win in the state of Tennessee in MLB history, and it was also the first MLB win by a Thomasville-based pitcher since Levale Speigner in 2007.[38] Waldrep appeared in ten games (nine starts) for the Braves and went 6-1 with a 2.88 ERA and 55 strikeouts over 56+1⁄3 innings.

While pitching in spring training in February 2026, Waldrep reported elbow soreness, with preliminary tests indicated the presence of loose bodies in his pitching elbow.[39][40] On February 18, it was reported that Waldrep would need to undergo a surgery to remove the loose bodies.[41]

Pitching style

As a prospect, the quality of Waldrep's splitter drew particular attention.[42][43]

References

  1. ^ Lamar, Joey (August 24, 2020). "Bulldogs hoping they've found answer in replacing all-state kicker". WCTV. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  2. ^ Dauer, Paige (June 24, 2020). "My Senior: Hurston Waldrep". WALB.
  3. ^ "Thomasville's Waldrep signs with USM for baseball". WTXL. November 20, 2019.
  4. ^ Watkins, Scott (February 10, 2022). "Who's going to pitch for Southern Miss? Here's a look at the projected rotation". Sun Herald. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  5. ^ Curet, Taylor (May 6, 2022). "Hurston Waldrep's hard work paying off". WDAM.
  6. ^ "Which Southern Miss Baseball Pitchers Can Attract MLB Draft Interest?". June 16, 2022.
  7. ^ "Southern Miss starter Hurston Waldrep enters the transfer portal". Sun Herald. June 29, 2022.
  8. ^ "Southern Miss All-American pitcher Hurston Waldrep to enter transfer portal". June 30, 2022.
  9. ^ "Gators add impact pitching transfer Hurston Waldrep". Swamp247.
  10. ^ "USA Baseball Names 2022 Collegiate National Team Roster". USA Baseball.
  11. ^ Thompson, Clint (July 7, 2022). "Former THS ace selected to Team USA". Thomasville Times-Enterprise.
  12. ^ Callis, Jim (December 14, 2022). "Draft Top 100 Prospects list 2023". MLB.com. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  13. ^ "Where Florida Gators Wyatt Langford, Hurston Waldrep could go in MLB draft". Florida Times-Union. July 8, 2023. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  14. ^ Murphy, Brian (July 9, 2023). "Braves take Florida RHP Waldrep with 24th pick". MLB.com. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  15. ^ O'Brien, David (July 10, 2023). "Braves take three college arms on Day 1, led by intriguing first-rounder Hurston Waldrep". The Athletic. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  16. ^ Toscano, Justin (July 14, 2023). "Braves Nation: Signing of draftees (with bonuses) is underway". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  17. ^ "Braves sign 20 of 21 2023 Draft picks". MLB.com. July 25, 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  18. ^ "BRAVES PROMOTE '23 FIRST ROUND PICK TO ROME". Coosa Valley News. August 8, 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  19. ^ "Braves Nation: First-round pick already promoted". Atlanta Journal Constitution. August 9, 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  20. ^ "Top pick Waldrep promoted to Rome". Rome News-Tribune. August 8, 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  21. ^ Johnstone, Patrick (August 29, 2023). "2023 Braves first-round pick, former Southern Miss pitcher, promoted to M-Braves". WLBT. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  22. ^ Harris, Chris (August 29, 2023). "2023 first-round pick Hurston Waldrep promoted to Mississippi among a series of Tuesday roster moves". MILB.com. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  23. ^ "Braves call up first-round pick, former USM star Waldrep to Double-A Mississippi". Vicksburg Post. August 29, 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  24. ^ "Hurston Waldrep Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News". MiLB.com. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  25. ^ "Braves' No. 1 pick Hurston Waldrep impresses in Triple-A; Charlie Culberson pitches again". Atlanta Journal Constitution. September 23, 2023. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  26. ^ Toscano, Justin (September 24, 2023). "Braves first-round pick Hurston Waldrep will not be on team's postseason roster". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  27. ^ "Braves invite former Astros closer Ken Giles, top prospect Hurston Waldrep to spring". ESPN.com. Associated Press. February 2, 2024. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
  28. ^ Bowman, Justin (March 28, 2024). "Braves prospect Hurston Waldrep to begin season at Double-A Mississippi". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  29. ^ Burns, Gabriel (June 1, 2024). "Braves promote pitching prospect Hurston Waldrep to Triple-A Gwinnett". ajc. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  30. ^ "Hurston Waldrep Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News". MiLB.com. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  31. ^ Toscano, Justin (June 8, 2024). "Top prospect Hurston Waldrep to make major league debut with Braves on Sunday". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ISSN 1539-7459. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  32. ^ Bowman, Mark (June 9, 2024). "Hurston Waldrep makes Major League debut vs. Nationals". MLB.com. Retrieved October 29, 2025.
  33. ^ Parker, Ellie (February 26, 2025). "Braves option pitchers Dylan Dodd, Hurston Waldrep to Triple-A Gwinnett". Atlanta News First. Retrieved January 9, 2026.
  34. ^ "Hurston Waldrep Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News". MiLB.com. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  35. ^ "Waldrep's whirlwind day: From a 4:45 a.m. wake-up to earning his first MLB win at a NASCAR venue". Toronto Star. August 3, 2025. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  36. ^ Bowman, Mark (August 4, 2025). "White (2 HRs), Waldrep put Braves in victory lane at Speedway Classic". MLB.com.
  37. ^ Gardner, Steve (August 4, 2025). "Braves outlast Reds, weather to win MLB Speedway Classic at Bristol". USA Today.
  38. ^ "Thomasville Times-Enterprise". digital.timesenterprise.com. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  39. ^ "Braves' Hurston Waldrep getting tests for 'loose bodies' in arm". ESPN.com. Associated Press. February 15, 2026. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  40. ^ Bowman, Mark (February 15, 2026). "Young Braves hurler Waldrep to have sore elbow examined". MLB.com. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  41. ^ "Braves hope Schwellenbach, Waldrep can return in '26 after elbow cleanups". mlb.com. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  42. ^ Baumann, Michael (July 13, 2023). "Hurston Waldrep's Freaky Splitter Is Coming! Beware! Beware!". Fangraphs. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  43. ^ Gilberto, Gerard (February 13, 2024). "Road to The Show™: Braves' Waldrep". MILB.com. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
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