Braves Minor League Recap: Hurston Waldrep dominates in strong pitching night

A look at the delivery of old for Hurston Waldrep who debuted a change in mechanics.

(15-21) Gwinnett Stripers 3, (23-13) Durham Bulls 2

• Hurston Waldrep, SP: 5.1IP 2H 2ER 2BB 10K, 6.35 ERA
• Michael Peterson, RP: 1.1IP 2H 0R 0BB 2K, 3.38 ERA
• Jarred Kelenic, CF: 0-for-4, .265/.390/.471
• Luke Williams, SS: 2-for-3, R, BB, .132/.205/.145
• Eddys Leonard, 2B: 1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, R, .220/.266/.490

Box Score

The story of this game was pitching as the Gwinnett pitching staff struck out a combined 15 while walking just three and it was headlined by Hurston Waldrep who showcased an altered delivery to extremely strong results. He had been working on lowering his leg lift in his windup and it looked like it provided him more stability as he wasn’t falling off the mound as much. Hurston was able to attack hitters lower in the zone with his fastball, to get ahead, and then put them away with his splitter and slider instead of having to rely on his splitter to get back into counts resulting in him having to throw it more and more in a single at bat. Now to temper expectations, the mechanics did come apart in that final inning as his leg lift was higher, and he began falling off the mound towards first base which eventually resulted in a two run homerun but it was a fantastic step forward for Hurston in a season that’s had a lot of backward steps.

Michael Peterson (1.1IP 2H 0R 0BB 2K), Dylan Dodd (0.1IP 0H 0R 0BB 1K), Jesse Chavez (1IP 1H 0R 1BB 1K), Wander Suero (1IP 1H 0R 0BB 1K) then combined for 0 runs over the final innings of the game to preserve the lead and give Hurston the well deserved win.

In a very well pitched game by opposing pitcher Joe Boyle, made one real mistake and Stripers second baseman took advantage of it to give the Stripers the lead that the staff kept.

(14-15) Birmingham Barons 0, (12-17) Columbus Clingstones 2

• Ian Mejia, SP: 7IP 6H 0R 0BB 7K, 1.21 ERA
• Shay Schanaman, RP: 1IP 1H 0R 0BB 2K, 6.30 ERA
• Ethan Workinger, DH: 1-for-3, 2B, RBI, R, .279/.354/.616
• Drew Compton, 1B: 1-for-3, 2B, RBI, .207/.293/.268

Box Score

Ian Mejia shined in a game that ended in less than two hours thanks to some incredible pitching on both sides. For the Clingstones, Ian Mejia was brilliant striking out seven over seven inning and not giving up a single extra-base hit. That makes it two consecutive scoreless outings for Ian with a combined 13 innings pitched which has dropped his ERA on the season all the way down to 1.21.

It wasn’t until that final frame for Ian, the seventh, that the Clingstones really could get anything going offensively but it happened quick. Cal Conley got on base on a one out single, stole second, and then was doubled in by Ethan Workinger, who has been on an absolute tear of his own.

After a McCabe fly out, Drew Compton would double Ethan in and give the Clingstones a 2-0 lead. That lead would be safe as Shay Schanaman and Rolddy Muñoz would close out the final two innings and give the Clingstones the win.

(13-17) Greenville Drive 2, (17-13) Rome Emperors 7

• Adam Maier, SP: 7IP 3H 2ER 3BB 4K, 3.98 ERA
• Cory Wall, RP: 1IP 1H 0R 0BB 0K, 0.66 ERA
• Austin Smith, RP: 1IP 0H 0R 0BB 2K, 2.70 ERA
• Titus Dumitru, LF: 1-for-4, 2 RBI, .245/.322/.330
• Ambioris Tavarez, SS: 2-for-4, R, .281/.395/.344

Box Score

The theme of the day continued as the trio of Adam Maier, Cory Wall, and Austin Smith limited the Greenville Drive to just four hits and two runs. Both runs were scored in the first two innings before Adam really settled in and took care of business. After a rough start to April, Adam’s last three starts have been strong (20IP 10H 4ER 6BB 13K – 1.80 ERA).

The Emperors trailed, despite the strong pitching, until the fifth inning when the offense scored three runs in quite the unconventional way. It started with a bases loaded wild pitch that let Ambioris Tavarez score to cut the deficit to 3-1. Lizandro Espinoza walked to load the bases again, and then ANOTHER wild pitch allowed Joe Olsavsky to score to tie the game 2-2. That was then followed up with a balk that allowed Lizandro to score and give the Emperors a 3-2 lead. They would tack on an additional four runs in the seventh, with another run coming from a bases loaded walk, and extend their lead to 7-2.

Cory Wall would come in, in the top of the 8th, and after giving up a lead off single would retire the next three hitters. Austin Smith would follow him and strike out two in a perfect ninth inning to give Rome the win.

(14-16) Hickory Crawdads 3, (15-15) Augusta GreenJackets 2

• Jeremy Reyes, SP: 3IP 1H 2R 0ER 3BB 3K, 3.18 ERA
• Logan Samuels, RP: 4IP 5H 1ER 0BB 3K, 1.93 ERA
• Owen Carey, CF: 2-for-4, HR, RBI, R, .274/.347/.415
• Nick Montgomery, C: 1-for-4, HR, R, RBI, .160/.261/.280

Box Score

Jeremy Reyes returned from the injured list and showed no signs of being injured as he gave up one hit and two unearned runs over three innings. He sat comfortably in the upper 90s, hitting 98 a few times. A passed ball in the first allowed one run to score, while a fielding error allowed for another run to be scored in the third inning. Despite the three walks, Jeremy located his pitches pretty well, sitting either at the bottom of the zone, or on the edges. He didn’t miss often inside the zone so it’s fair to think that with continued reps and health we could be close to seeing the Jeremy Reyes that opened so many eyes last season.

Logan Samuels piggybacked the Reyes start and was his normal 2025 self – giving up just one run across four innings of work while striking out three. Logan has yet to give up more than two runs in any of his appearances on the season and now has a 1.93 ERA and 0.99 WHIP on the season. David Rodriguez and Justin Long combined to shut down the Crawdads over the games final two innings.

Despite those notable performances, the GreenJackets were unable to get the win because the offense couldn’t really get it going offensively. Outside of a pair of solo homeruns by Owen Carey and Nick Montgomery, the only other hit was a single by Owen. The GreenJackets went 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position and stranded four on base. The Nick Montgomery homerun was awesome though.

(1-3) FCL Pirates 5, (3-1) FCL Braves 6

• Dalton McIntyre, CF: 0-for-3, 2 BB, 2R, .214/.389/.214
• Jose Perdomo, SS: 0-for-3, RBI, .167/.294/.250
• Juan Mateo, 2B: 1-for-3, RBI, R, BB, 2B, .462/.533/.615
• Diego Benitez, 1B: 1-for-4, 2 RBI, .200/.200/.267
• Jhonly Taveras, SP: 4IP 2H 0R 3BB 2K, 0.00 ERA

Box Score

Diego Benitez, now a first baseman, picked up a pair of RBI in the win for the FCL Braves. Jhonly Taveras made his season debut and was effective across four innings of work. Second baseman Juan Mateo continued his great start by getting on base twice, once from a walk and once from a double.