Hurston Waldrep

Hurston Wayne Waldrep (born March 1, 2002) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Atlanta Braves organization.

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 kicker and punter. He earned All-State honors in both sports. He went unselected in the shortened 2020 Major League Baseball draft and enrolled at the University of Southern Mississippi to play college baseball.

As a freshman at Southern Mississippi in 2021, Waldrep pitched 16+1⁄3 innings in relief and went 1–0 with a 3.31 ERA and 16 strikeouts. For the 2022 season, he became Southern Mississippi's Sunday starter. Over 17 starts, he went 6–2 with a 3.20 ERA, 140 strikeouts, and 33 walks over ninety innings. After the season, he entered the transfer portal. He later transferred to the University of Florida. That summer, he played with the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team. He entered the 2023 season as a top prospect for the upcoming MLB draft. For the season, he started 19 games and went 10–3 with a 4.16 ERA and 156 strikeouts over 101+2⁄3 innings.

Professional career

Waldrep was selected in the first round with the 24th overall pick in the 2023 Major League Baseball draft by the Atlanta Braves. On July 13, Waldrep signed with the Braves for an underslot deal worth $2,997,500. He made his professional debut with the Augusta GreenJackets, striking out eight in a single three-inning start, before earning a promotion to the Rome Braves. In Rome, Waldrep threw twelve innings and seventeen strikeouts, leading to his promotion to the Mississippi Braves. On September 23, 2023, Waldrep made his first appearance at the Triple–A level, with the Gwinnett Stripers.

Prior to the 2024 regular season, Waldrep was invited to spring training. He began the season at Double-A Mississippi.

Pitching style

As a prospect, the quality of Waldrep's splitter drew particular attention.