Hurston Waldrep

Hurston Wayne Waldrep (born March 1, 2002) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2024.

Amateur career
Waldrep attended Thomasville High School in Thomasville, Georgia, where he played on their baseball team as a pitcher and on their football team as a placekicker and punter. He earned All-State honors in both sports. He went unselected in the shortened 2020 Major League Baseball draft and enrolled at the University of Southern Mississippi to play college baseball.

As a freshman for the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles in 2021, Waldrep pitched $16 1⁄3$ innings in relief and had a 1–0 win–loss record with a 3.31 earned run average (ERA) and 16 strikeouts. For the 2022 season, he became Southern Mississippi's Sunday starter. Over 17 starts, he went 6–2 with a 3.20 ERA, 140 strikeouts, and 33 walks over 90 innings.

After the season, Waldrep entered the transfer portal and transferred to the University of Florida. That summer, he played with the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team. He entered the 2023 season as a top prospect for the upcoming MLB draft. For the Florida Gators that season, he started 19 games and went 10–3 with a 4.16 ERA and 156 strikeouts over $101 2⁄3$ innings.

Professional career
The Atlanta Braves selected Waldrep in the first round, with the 24th overall pick, in the 2023 Major League Baseball draft. On July 13, Waldrep signed with the Braves for an underslot deal worth $2,997,500. He made his professional debut with the Augusta GreenJackets, striking out eight in a single three-inning start, before earning a promotion to the Rome Braves. In Rome, Waldrep threw twelve innings and seventeen strikeouts, leading to his promotion to the Mississippi Braves. On September 23, 2023, Waldrep made his first appearance at the Triple–A level, with the Gwinnett Stripers.

Prior to the 2024 regular season, Waldrep was invited to spring training. He began the season at Double-A Mississippi. On June 9, 2024, Waldrep was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time.

Pitching style
As a prospect, the quality of Waldrep's splitter drew particular attention.