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Hurston Waldrep
American baseball player (born 2002) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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.
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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]
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Professional career
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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 Augusta GreenJackets, striking out eight in a single three-inning start,[18][19] before earning a promotion to the Rome Braves.[20] In Rome, Waldrep threw twelve innings and seventeen strikeouts,[21] leading to his promotion to the Mississippi Braves.[22][23] On September 23, 2023, Waldrep made his first appearance at the Triple–A level, with the Gwinnett Stripers.[24][25]
Prior to the 2024 regular season, Waldrep was invited to spring training.[26] He began the season at Double-A Mississippi.[27] On June 9, 2024, Waldrep was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[28] He made his MLB debut the same day, in a game against the Washington Nationals.[29] In 2 starts during his rookie campaign, Waldrep struggled to an 0-1 record and 16.71 ERA with 3 strikeouts over 7 innings of work.
Waldrep was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett to begin the 2025 season.[30]
Waldrep earned his first career win in the Speedway Classic on August 3, 2025.[31] He was scheduled to start for Gwinnett on that day, but was temporarily promoted when the game was suspended due to rain the previous day.[32] Waldrep became the first pitcher credited with a win in the state of Tennessee in MLB History. It was also the first MLB win by a Thomasville-based pitcher since Levale Speigner in 2007. [33]
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Pitching style
As a prospect, the quality of Waldrep's splitter drew particular attention.[34][35]
References
External links
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