Florida’s Hurston Waldrep goes full throttle in first pro win

Former Gator right-handed pitcher, Hurston Waldrep got the opportunity of a lifetime on Sunday thanks to inclement weather.

The first annual Speedway Classic at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee entered a weather delay on Saturday night in the bottom of the first with two on, one out, and the Reds leading 1-0. It ended up having to be suspended with a scheduled resumption of Sunday afternoon.

Waldrep was not on the Braves’ roster on Saturday when the game was paused, but since Austin Cox was not able to throw again Sunday, the Braves woke up Waldrep around 11 pm on Saturday night and told him that instead of making his scheduled Triple-A start on Sunday, he needed to be awake at 5AM and a car would be picking him up at 5:15AM to take him to meet the Braves in Tennessee where he would get more information about starting in Sunday’s resumption of the Speedway Classic against the Reds.

“I was asleep last night,” said Waldrep during his postgame press conference. He said around 11PM he got a call that said he would be pitching in the Bristol Speedway Classic.

“Woke up around 4:45, got in the car a little after five, drove here with my girlfriend, got here a little around 9:45 or so, and everything since then has just been nonstop,” he said. Waldrep explained his excitement and happiness to be in Tennessee. “It’s been an unbelievable day,” he stated. And that it was for him.

Waldrep threw 5 2/3 innings on Sunday, giving up just one run on three hits, two walks, and struck out four, earning his first career win and his first win of the season as the Braves went on to defeat the Reds in the first ever MLB game played inside of a raceway.

“Nothing about this game is perfect, or how you draw it up,” he explained. “To have that, along with the first career win; I didn’t even think about it until after the game, and then it all kind of sank in. I sat there in the dugout and watched the rest of the game,” he said. He called the experience one that you just have to enjoy and take it all in as much as you can.

Waldrep is ranked as the Braves’ No. 4 prospect per MLB Pipeline. He made his MLB debut in 2024, but after suffering some injuries last season, the Gator started the season in Triple-A and came out and impressed on the mound in a huge scenario on Sunday.

Braves manager, Brian Snitker spoke with the media after the game on Sunday and spoke on Waldrep’s improvements in Triple-A this year and how impressive it was for him to get a last minute call and perform the way he did on Sunday.

“He’s made a lot of strides. His time in Triple-A this year has been really, really good for him,” Snitker stated. “The pitch mix I think is better, the delivery, he throws with control,” he stated.

Atlanta has five pitchers on the 60-day injured list so there is a chance that Waldrep could stay up with the Braves.