Erick Fedde made his Atlanta Braves debut Tuesday night, and veteran Carlos Carrasco could be in line to start a game soon. Needless to say, the Braves rotation is both extremely unexciting and also in major flux at the moment. In this lost 2025 season, the Braves are just hoping to limp to the finish line without any more injuries.
However, an intriguing reinforcement could be on the way to Atlanta very soon. One of Atlanta's top pitching prospect's Hurston Waldrep is churning out plenty of good outings with Triple-A Gwinnett. His latest (and perhaps his last) start with the Stripers saw him pitch seven innings of shutout baseball with eight strikeouts and perhaps most importantly just one walk.
How on earth can you decipher which pitch Hurston Waldrep is throwing?
— Pitch Profiler (@pitchprofiler) July 30, 2025
His fastball, slider, and splitter overlap so much in their movement profiles that they’re nearly indistinguishable! pic.twitter.com/7GWxPsQjoh
Hurston Waldrep could be in Braves' rotation very soon
Given the current standings, the Atlanta Braves should have two priorities over the final two months of the season. First, keeping their core pieces healthy, and second developing a few young players along the way. Waldrep fits perfectly in that second category.
The 2023 first round pick has had his share of ups and downs, but he seems to have really turned a corner in the month of July. Over Waldrep's past four starts, he's allowed just two earned runs in 23 innings pitched. Waldrep clearly has flaws in his pitch mix, but he has worked tirelessly to perfect his talents. When he's commanding the fastball well, the splitter is more than good enough to get Major League hitters out. Hopefully should he get another chance in the majors this season the fastball will play better than it did previously.
Should Waldrep get promoted, he would have to reel off some inspiring performances to entrench himself in the rotation for 2026, but at the very least he can see how effective the adjustments he has made plays at the top level. Regardless, if the Braves have learned anything this season it's that having Major League quality pitching depth is a top priority. Hopefully, Waldrep can prove he is just that over the season's final couple months.