Florida Baseball: Atlanta Braves writers react to Hurston Waldrep

Even though he was only with Florida baseball for one season, Hurston Waldrep was a key piece for the Gators this season that allowed the team to make it to the College World Series finals.

He was drafted in the first round on Sunday by the Atlanta Braves, and just like we did with our friends over at Nolan Writin about Wyatt Langford, we reached out to our sister site House That Hank Built to get their reaction to what Braves fans think about the newest member of their team.

Florida Baseball: Hotlanta reacts

We swapped Q and A questions with lead writer Steven Teal to get a feel for how the former Florida baseball star is going to fit in with his new team.

HFH: The Braves are obviously killing it right now and have the best record in baseball to go along with the 2021 World Series title. Was drafting Waldrep over a potential high school prospect a sign that Atlanta is trying to go all-in on their championship window now? 

Steven: It does seem like Atlanta knows this is their window of opportunity to win and needs to take advantage of that. The choice to go with a college-level arm does help fast-track Waldrep as a bullpen or future rotation option, similarly to how they did with Spencer Strider and Bryce Elder. Of course, that will depend on if he can improve his command, and Atlanta has a good track record of helping pitchers develop in that area. With Max Fried approaching free agency and no extension imminent, Waldrep makes a lot of sense for the Braves.

HFH: Three of the four main starters for the Braves (Strider, Elder, and Shuster) are guys that the Braves drafted and developed out of the 2020 draft. Given their success and the pathway they took, what realistic timeline is Waldrep going to take within his journey in the Braves organization before he hopefully gets called up to the big club?

Steven: It’s tough to say, but I feel like it will be a similar timeline, but that also depends on how they intend to use Waldrep. If he’s meant to be a starter, I could see it taking at least 2 years before he touches an MLB mound, but if they try him out of the bullpen as they’ve done with Fried and Strider, it could be sooner. I think a lot of that depends on if they can work on improving his command and delivery. It’s safe to assume he could follow a similar path as Strider and Elder, though. The Atlanta bullpen does have the third-best ERA in baseball currently at 3.43, but you can never have enough bullpen options available to you.

HFH: When a casual fan thinks of the Braves, they think of the 90s and the Big Three (Glavine, Smoltz, and Maddux). Have you found since their retirements that Braves fans compare every pitcher since to those three, and is that a shadow that will hang over Waldrep in Atlanta?

Steven: If you think about the Atlanta Braves or see them listed on Immaculate Grid, I’m pretty sure any baseball fan would think of those three names quickly. That’s definitely been a big talking point since all three of them left and something the organization would love to build up to again. I think it’s fair that most fans would compare any pitcher that comes to Atlanta to one of those three. Those are big shoes to fill but Atlanta surely is in a place where they may be on the cusp of creating their new version of the big three.

If Max Fried stays with Atlanta, he’s a close comparison to Glavine since he’s the lefty of the group with good breaking pitches. Then you have Strider, who is a power pitcher much like Smoltz was. That leaves someone like Elder, if he can maintain the level of performance he’s currently showing, to fill the Maddux role (I would never put that label on anyone, but this is just for comparison’s sake). Now, will that be a shadow hanging over Waldrep’s head? I don’t think so. The Braves’ development staff has always done a great job of letting players be who they are and not putting that kind of pressure on their prospects. I remember hearing some say Max Fried is the next Sandy Koufax. While Fried looks up to Koufax, I don’t think he or anyone on the Braves staff would allow that to hang over him.

HFH: Do you consider Atlanta’s new stadium to be pitcher-friendly, hitter-friendly, or neutral?

Steven: Truist Park (formerly SunTrust Park) was expected to be an extremely hitter-friendly ballpark when it first opened. However, that has not really been the case. When it first opened in 2017, the ball did fly out a good bit but as they added more things in The Battery surrounding the park, things settled down a good bit, and it’s become more like Turner Field, which was a slightly tough place to hit homers due to the dimensions. So, I’d say it’s more of a fair ballpark that is slightly favored toward pitchers. If anyone has a true advantage in this ballpark, it would be left-handed batters. It’s only 325 feet to the right field corner, and as Braves fans have seen from Matt Olson this season, balls can fly very easily in that direction.

HFH: While Atlanta is SEC Country, Georgia is not one of the big dogs when it comes to college baseball. How familiar are Braves fans of Waldrep from his season at Florida?

Steven: Since Braves’ Country extends to many of the states in the Southeast, I’d say there are fans who are familiar with Waldrep. College baseball is something people in this region love to keep up with, even though college football is considered King. To be on the safe side, I’d say at least 25% of Atlanta Braves fans had probably heard of Waldrep in some shape or form. Waldrep is also a Georgia native from Thomasville, specifically. I’m sure there are some who knew him from his days playing in the GHSA for Thomasville High School and that he was an All-State athlete in both baseball and football.