Top Braves Pitching Prospect Impresses in Grapefruit League Debut

The Atlanta Braves have made a habit of finding and developing good pitching, no matter how you look at it. 

Whether it's an amazing 2020 draft class, led by Spencer Strider, or being called one of the best organizations at drafting and developing pitching by Baseball America, the Braves know what they're good at.

And they may have found another hidden gem in Hurston Waldrep. 

The 2023 1st rounder out of the University of Florida threw two scoreless innings in his Grapefruit League debut, impressing manager Brian Snitker. 

"It's a big deal, making your first big-league spring training appearance," Snitker told the media after the game. "That kid's got an electric arm, man." Waldrep showed just how electric that arm was, with his first fastball coming in at 99 mph and averaging 96.6 on the heater. 

But it wasn't just the fastball that impressed - Waldrep threw 14 splitters and got three whiffs on the pitch. The offspeed pitch averaged only 574 RPMs, an absurdly low number that shows just how deadly it can be for opposing hitters. 

(The lower the spin rate on a splitter, the better - the average spin rate in MLB for splitters was just under 1300 RPMs.)

Waldrep added a few sliders, throwing four, but threw no curveballs. Similar to other recent draftees by Atlanta, it appears that he's temporarily shelving the curveball to improve the slider. AJ Smith-Shawver followed this same development path, eventually reintroducing the curve to his arsenal last season after rarely throwing it in 2022.