Waldrep turned in a fantastic May and is now in Law’s top 50
There was a ton of buzz around Hurston Waldrep when the Atlanta Braves drafted him 24th overall in 2023, and he has done nothing but exceed the hype in his 10 months in a Braves uniform. The former Gator fire baller has had success at every level, and just recently earned a call up to Triple-A. After a mediocre April Waldrep’s strike-throwing made massive leaps in May, a point noted by Keith Law as a reason for his rise from 80th on the Athletics preseason list to 41st on the updated list released on Monday.
Waldrep also leads Battery Power’s stock watch for this month, and there is a huge reason for optimism for Waldrep’s immediate future. While he may not be the player the Braves turn to for a call up this season, there is growing reason to consider him in the mix for the #1 spot in the system and if he can have success against Triple-A hitters he may just earn that role. His splitter is devastating and already one of the best pitches in baseball, and as he has progressed his fastball and slider it has only made it more impossible to handle. Waldrep posted a 1.19 ERA in May, and then struck out 11 batters in his call up to Gwinnett.