Hurston Waldrep

Despite some notable control issues as an amateur, Atlanta bet on Waldrep's stuff and upside with the 24th overall pick in 2023, and his stock has continued to climb. While pitching for Florida, he had the three best starts of his life in June of 2023 (vs. Connecticut, South Carolina and Oral Roberts) before crashing back to earth against eventual College World Series winner LSU in his final start as an amateur. He logged a 1.53 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 62.1 percent groundball rate and 41:16 K:BB in 29.1 innings across all four full-season leagues after signing. His splitter is one of the best offspeed pitches in the minors, and his mid-to-upper-90s fastball and mid-to-upper-80s slider give him two more plus pitches. Other than general injury risk that applies to all pitchers, the make-or-break skill for the 6-foot-2 righty will be his control (13.0 BB%). If he throws enough strikes, he could be a No. 2 starter. Atlanta has not been shy about the idea that Waldrep could join the rotation sometime in 2024, and he has a very high ceiling whenever he arrives due to his strong team context and ability to pile up strikeouts. Read Past Outlooks