Hurston Waldrep taking another step toward returning to Braves
The return of Hurston Waldrep is expected to come sooner rather than later.
The 24-year-old right-handed pitcher, who has already made two outings in the Florida Complex League, will take a significant step toward a possible reunion with the Braves when he pitches for Double-A Columbus at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Waldrep began a rehab assignment June 1, throwing 26 pitches over two innings for the Florida Complex League Braves. He walked two and faced eight batters at CoolToday Park, the spring training home of the Braves. Five days later, Waldrep threw two more innings in a start there, this time striking out four, walking three, allowing one earned run on two hits while also throwing a wild pitch. Waldrep was charged with a pitch timer violation, as well.
Thursday, Waldrep will try to extend his pitch count to 55-60 and get through three or four innings against the Pensacola Blue Wahoos.
When the Braves arrived in Florida for spring training in early February, Waldrep was in the mix for a spot in the starting rotation. The former first-round draft pick and Thomasville High School graduate logged 56⅓ innings over 10 games for the Braves last season, struck out 55 hitters and held opponents to a .222 batting average against.
After throwing 5⅔ innings Aug. 2, Waldrep made nine starts and was 6-1 with a 3.02 ERA in those outings. He also made two short starts for the Braves in June 2024.
“(Waldrep) is really impressive,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said during spring training. “It’s big-time stuff, it’s big-time swing and miss stuff, and I think we’ve just seen the tip of the iceberg with him. He’s exciting.”
Two days after Weiss’ comments, Waldrep’s right elbow was sore. He had surgery a few weeks later to remove loose bodies around that elbow.
That was more than three months ago, and now Waldrep appears on the precipice of being a part of Atlanta’s pitching plans for the rest of the summer if his rehab starts continue to go smoothly. The former Southern Mississippi and Florida standout, however, does have options remaining, meaning when his rehab assignment ends, he could be sent to Triple-A Gwinnett to continue his development.
By rule, pitchers have a maximum of 30 days to complete a rehab assignment. That equates to the Braves having until June 30 to figure out if Waldrep has a spot with the big-league club or whether he can be stowed away until later this season.
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