This time of year belongs to prospects. Activity on the free-agency and trade fronts has slowed to a crawl, Spring Training is still a few weeks away, and prospect rankings are being released across the board.
With only two games left in what has been frustrating 2025 season, the Atlanta Braves made a pair of strategic roster moves focused on long-term development.
According to Braves beat reporter Grant McAuley, the Braves are bringing back up prospect reliever Hayden Harris for the final series and optioning Hurston Waldrep, who has already made his last start of the season.
Not even 60 days ago, Hurston Waldrep’s future looked uncertain. He had been struggling for most of the season. On June 8, his ERA was up to 6.35. The Atlanta Braves needed pitching help, and other options were getting shots ahead of him. Then, a rainy night in Bristol, Tenn., forced the team’s hand.
As Bradford Doolittle of ESPN pointed out last week, the most positive aspect of the Braves’ 2025 campaign might be the emergence of Hurston Waldrep. The 2023 first-round pick toed the rubber for the final time of the season last night, flashing all of the improvements that have the Braves rightfully excited for his future.
The Rule 5 draft, held annually at the winter meetings in December, never garners much fanfare, but it has been known to yield some noteworthy transactions.
Michael Harris II hit two long home runs and rookie Hurston Waldrep pitched six strong innings to help the Atlanta Braves extend their league-leading winning streak to 10 games with a 3-2 victory over the visiting Washington Nationals on Tuesday.
A pair of high-profile rookies will face each other on Tuesday when the Atlanta Braves host the Washington Nationals in the second game of a three-game series.
Only nine games remain before the baseball gods finally give Braves Country some mercy. It’s been a nightmare in Atlanta since Opening Day, beginning with a seven-game losing streak that served as a foreshadowing of what was to come.
Hurston Waldrep had what was statistically his worst showing so far this season for the Atlanta Braves, and that said a lot about how far he’s come as a pitcher. The rookie right-hander pitched five innings and limited the Seattle Mariners to two runs in the losing effort.
Amid a disastrous season, Drake Baldwin and Hurston Waldrep serve as reminders that the Braves’ future still has a lot of promise. The duo stole the spotlight on the national stage during Sunday Night Baseball against the Phillies.
It’s a bit of a repeating discussion from his last start. However, with the hitters he had to face Sunday night, Atlanta Braves righty Hurston Waldrep’s ability to battle shone even brighter. On two occasions, he was faced with a jam.
America's favorite pastime has more memorable performances than any sport. As such, figuring out which pitchers had the best seasons ever is no easy task.
The Atlanta Braves targeted Hurston Waldrep in the first round of the 2023 draft as a potentially fast-moving college arm whose fastball, splitter combo could have him helping the big league team quickly.
Hurston Waldrep, a right-handed pitcher for the Atlanta Braves, has emerged as a compelling storyline in the 2025 MLB season. After a challenging major league debut in 2024, Waldrep has returned to the Braves rotation with remarkable success this season.
The last time the Atlanta Braves missed the playoffs, Ronald Acuna Jr. was 19 years old, starting that year with the Florida Fire Frogs of the high Class-A Florida State League.
As the 2025 MLB season winds down, the Atlanta Braves’ disappointing year has become harder and harder to ignore. Entering this weekend’s series against the New York Mets, they sat at 58–69 despite a recent 11–3 surge.
A few developments over the second half of the season should give the Braves a lot more confidence in their rotation going into 2026. On the field, Hurston Waldrep looks like he’s turned the corner in a big way.
There’s little doubt about it at this point: Hurston Waldrep is far and away the Braves best starting pitcher on the roster. Injuries have something to do with that.
Rookie Hurston Waldrep threw a career-best seven scoreless innings and the Atlanta Braves beat the visiting Chicago White Sox 1-0 on Wednesday in the rubber game of their three-game interleague series.
Hurston Waldrep dominated again for the Atlanta Braves en route to a series opener win over the Cleveland Guardians. He pitched six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out seven. Six of his seven strikeouts came on the spitter, with another coming on the slider.
Hurston Waldrep threw six strong innings and Michael Harris II broke the game open with a three-run homer to lead the Atlanta Braves to a 7-1 win over the visiting Miami Marlins on Saturday in the first game of a day-night doubleheader.
Hurston Waldrep, the Atlanta Braves No. 3 prospect pitcher, made his Spring Training debut in the Braves’ 2-1 victory against the Pirates on Feb 25. The 22-year-old pitcher, drafted from the University of Florida in the first round of the 2023 MLB draft, was called on as relief in the final inning of the game.
Former Florida standout Hurston Waldrep became the 85th former Gators standout to reach the big leagues a couple weeks ago, but his stay in Major League Baseball was short-lived.
2023 Braves first-round draft pick Hurston Waldrep made a statement in his first eight starts of professional ball last year, recordig a 1.53 ERA and 12.6 K/9 across four levels (A-AAA).