Hurston

Waldrep

The Braves provided no timetable for Waldrep’s return. Weiss said he “hopes” Waldrep will be able to pitch again this year., and the surgery removed loose bodies from his elbow. Waldrep had a 2.88 ERA in nine starts down the stretch for Atlanta in 2025, striking out 55 in 56 1/3 innings. Atlanta’s pitching depth is already being tested early this season. We wouldn’t be surprised if Waldrep missed his entire age-24 season with the injury.

The good news is that an MRI exam revealed no ligament damage, though he is dealing with loose bodies so they still want the expert to take a look at it. Weiss noted that at this point, it’s “hard to say” whether or not the 23-year-old hurler will miss any significant time. Look for the Braves to provide an update on his status after that exam.

It’s merely a procedural move since Waldrep made his final regular-season start earlier this week against the Nationals, striking out five and allowing one run over six innings. The 23-year-old was outstanding during the second half of the season after making a mechanical tweak at Triple-A to improve his fastball command, finishing with a sparkling 2.88 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and a 55/22 K/BB ratio over 56 1/3 innings over 10 appearances (nine starts). He’ll be an extremely popular sleeper candidate in fantasy drafts next spring.

The 23-year-old right-hander struggled with his command a bit in this one, issuing four free passes while punching out five opposing hitters. The only run that the Nationals were able to muster against him came on an RBI single by CJ Abrams in the third inning. Otherwise, Waldrep was in complete command. He generated 17 whiffs on 92 pitches in the ballgame, posting a CSW of 29 percent. He concludes a terrific season with a 6-1 record, 2.88 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and a 55/22 K/BB ratio over 56 1/3 innings in 10 appearances (nine starts) with the Braves. He has done more than enough to warrant inclusion in the Braves’ rotation heading into the 2026 campaign.

All three runs came in the fifth. The Braves were down 3-0 at that point, but they rallied for four in the sixth to put Waldrep in line for the win, even though he didn’t come back out afterwards. Waldrep has now allowed 11 runs in his last two starts after giving up a total of six in his first seven. Obviously, the overall 5-1 record and 3.04 ERA are still really nice, but he could use a strong final start to add to his case for being penciled into the 2026 rotation. He’ll likely face the Nationals again on Tuesday.

Waldrep gave up eight hits, walked two and struck out four. The 23-year-old right-hander hadn’t allowed more than two runs in any of his first seven major league appearances, entering play Friday with a 1.33 ERA. Waldrep had his first really poor outing in the major leagues. He’ll look to bounce back against the Nationals on the road next week.

Waldrep really struggled with his command, as he allowed five walks in the contest. Only one of those walks scored, however, as the two runs he surrendered came on a first-inning blast from Julio Rodríguez. The 23-year-old has been outstanding in 2025, and the Mariners didn’t threaten much even with the free passes after that first frame. Waldrep should be in fantasy lineups against the Astros on Friday.

Waldrep punched out nine batters on the evening, though he also issued four free passes. The lone tally against him came on a solo shot by Brandon Marsh in the fourth inning. Unfortunately, the Braves weren’t able to scratch out a single run for him against Jesús Luzardo and company and Waldrep was stuck with a no-decision despite his strong effort. He got 15 swings and misses on 102 pitches on the night, posting a CSW of 25 percent. He’ll carry an outstanding 1.01 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and a 33/11 K/BB ratio (35 2/3 innings) into Saturday’s matchup against the Mariners.

The 23-year-old right-hander walked one batter on the night and didn’t record a strikeout. Even in a game where he clearly didn’t have his best stuff, Waldrep was able to limit the Marlins to only one run — an RBI single by Jakob Marsee in the opening inning. He exited with a 2-1 lead and in line for a victory but the Braves’ bullpen couldn’t hang on for him. Waldrep got three whiffs on 88 pitches in the ballgame, posting an underwhelming CSW of 23 percent. He’ll carry an impressive 0.90 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and a 24/7 K/BB ratio (30 innings) into Monday’s showdown against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Waldrep authored another dominant performance in this one, limiting Chicago to just five baserunners over seven frames. The 23-year-old former top pitching prospect has made the metaphorical leap recently, thanks to some mechanical tweaks he made back at Triple-A Gwinnett to improve his fastball command, and now holds a microscopic 0.73 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and 24/6 K/BB ratio across 24 2/3 innings (four appearances, three starts) this season at the big-league level. He’s obviously locked into Atlanta’s rotation for the final five weeks of the season and should be rostered in all fantasy formats at this juncture. He’ll face the perpetually rebuilding Marlins on Tuesday in his next outing.