The Braves formalize the promotion of Hurston Waldrep at the expense of a promising young reliever

The Atlanta Braves continue to struggle as they find themselves down two games to one in their four-game series against the Washington Nationals. However, they can split the series today with a win before heading to Baltimore to face a young Orioles ballclub loaded with talent.

Fans were disappointed for most of the series with the Nationals, as the offense failed to provide reasons to be excited. In the second game, Chris Sale had an outstanding performance in seven innings, but received no support for runs.

Atlanta has relied heavily on its pitching depth since losing Spencer Strider for the season. It was tough to land the fifth spot in the rotation, but fans were able to see some budding prospects on the mound because of it.

Spencer Schwellenbach has looked good in his two starts so far. His second start was tougher than his first, but it’s easy to see why the Braves are excited about Spencer’s future with the organization. He has a great pitch mix and looks like he belongs in a major league diamond.

The Braves continued this trend for fans by announcing another top prospect would make his MLB debut on Sunday afternoon. It was unofficially and surprisingly announced Saturday that Waldrep would start the series finale against Washington. This comes after the talented right-hander was promoted to Triple-A Gwinnett just a week ago.

However, the team announced Sunday morning that it had selected Hurston Waldrep to the MLB roster. To make room for his roster spot, Atlanta optioned Daysbel Hernandez to Triple-A and moved Ronald Acuña Jr. to the 60-day IL.

Hernandez only stayed with the club for one day after being called up to replace Jimmy Herget who was added to the 15-day IL due to shoulder inflammation. The Braves pitching carousel continues, but fans are excited to see Waldrep and his devastating splitter on display for his big league debut.

Atlanta’s first-round pick last season has impressed so far in 2024. He started the season with Double-A Mississippi and struggled a bit early, but has locked things down since then.

On the season, Waldrep has a 3.09 ERA over 55.1 innings pitched with 18 walks and 59 strikeouts. The biggest thing that has plagued the Georgia native is his command, but that’s something Atlanta knew when they selected him.

His promotion was announced after a dominant performance with the Gwinnett Stripers where he walked one and struck out 11 batters. This performance came against an extremely talented Norfolk Tides team, which features MLB’s top prospect, Jackson Holliday.

Waldrep is excited to make his MLB debut and show exactly why the Braves think so highly of him. He will wear the number 30 which was previously worn by former Braves starter Kyle Wright. Fans will get a taste of their future while hoping to leave the nation’s capital with a victory on the day of their getaway.

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