Breaking down top Braves prospect Hurston Waldrep and his fastball ‘geometry problem’

When Hurston Waldrep fell in the Atlanta Braves' lap during the 2023 MLB Draft, most saw it as a huge win for the Braves. Most outside observers had projected Waldrep to go more several picks higher and Waldrep's stuff and college resume seemed to be right up the Braves' alley.

After a quick ascent through the minor leagues, Waldrep got his chance to prove himself in the big leagues last season and his first look at the majors did not go well. While it was an extremely small two game sample, giving up 13 earned runs in seven innings of work is not what you want to see. Still, most chalked that up to Waldrep's nerves and that he wasn't completely healthy and wrote those early results off.

However, MLB experts have been busy ranking prospects to start the 2025 season and Waldrep has seen his stock almost universally drop going into the season. Did his early struggles scare experts that much or is their something else in play? Well, ESPN prospect guru Kiley McDaniel seems to have Waldrep's issues dialed in after ranking him just the ninth best prospect in the Braves' farm system.

ESPN's Kiley McDaniel has some real concerns about the Braves' Hurston Waldrep and his fastball

When McDaniel was among the prospect experts to not include Waldrep in his top 100 rankings and downgrade him overall, we took the opportunity to ask him about the change in his outlook. Instead of giving some general platitudes about scouts being lower on him or something like that, McDaniel had a detailed explanation of the problem Waldrep faces while reflecting on where he is with his fastball at the moment.

"The fastball shape is the part where I got let down a little bit." McDaniel said. "Where the command is coming along, the slider got better, and then because the shape of the fastball is making him want to nibble a little bit and then pitch backwards. Then if you can't command your knockout splitter pitch because, again, almost nobody can, you can then see how the whole thing falls apart."

McDaniel went on to say that Waldrep's fastball shape (or lack thereof) issues are severe enough that he will either need to throw a lot harder (which is easier said than done) or he is going to have to alter the actual geometry of his fastball to make it play up more including altering his delivery, release point, arm slot, and/or where he pitches on the rubber. Without a pretty severe adjustment to the pitch to avoid this 'geometry problem', McDaniel seems to think that Waldrep could end up in the bullpen.

It would be a shame if Waldrep and that nasty splitter of his ends up as a relief depth arm, but that is the reality he and the Braves face at the moment. If he comes out this spring having made multiple adjustments, Waldrep has the stuff to look like a world-beater. However, if he comes out and continues to get hit hard and struggle to find the zone, Waldrep could see his stock drop even further.

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