Atlanta optioned Waldrep to Triple-A Gwinnett on Tuesday.
Waldrep made a single appearance during spring training before being optioned, firing a scoreless inning. The 22-year-old allowed 13 earned runs across seven regular-season innings in his two appearances for Atlanta last season, but he posted a 3.38 ERA across 40.0 innings at Triple-A Gwinnett after starting the minor-league season at the rookie-level Florida Complex League. Following his impressive ascension through the organizational ranks last season, the right-hander will begin his 2025 campaign a step away from the majors.
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Braves' Hurston Waldrep: Reintroducing curve to arsenal
Rotowire
Waldrep is working on his curveball this spring after previously shelving the pitch, Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Atlanta wanted the right-hander to refine his slider after selecting him in the first round in 2023, as it would make a better complement to his plus-plus splitter. Now that he's comfortable with the slider, however, he can turn his attention back to the curve. "So, the focus, when we got rid of it, was to work on the slider -- to work on making the slider kind of the forefront of the arsenal and let it make the splitter better, really," Waldrep said Tuesday. "So, adding the curveball back just kind of gives me a little better tool to lefties. It fits my fastball really well out of my arm slot, and it just kind of made sense to bring it back." The 22-year-old also took time this winter to study how pitchers like Gerrit Cole, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander incorporated their curveballs into their pitch mix. Waldrep is likely to begin the season back at Triple-A Gwinnett, and while adding another reliable pitch can only help, control and command remain the biggest obstacles between him and a regular spot in the Atlanta rotation.
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