Braves hide scary Hurston Waldrep injury update in series of roster moves
By Mark Powell
The Atlanta Braves rushed top prospect Hurston Waldrep to the big leagues without a second thought. Waldrep was drafted less than a year ago out of Florida, but had dominated at every level. Nonetheless, his promotion to Atlanta did not go as planned, as he lasted just two outings before his reported demotion back to the minors.
Unfortunately for the Braves, Waldrep never made it to the minor leagues. The rookie told the Braves training staff that he felt more elbow soreness than usual, and thus the team placed him on the injured list with elbow inflammation.
For now, there is no reason to panic over Waldrep's diagnosis. Per David O'Brien of The Athletic, the Braves are merely playing it safe. However, one can't help but be a little concerned when a young pitcher suffers an elbow injury. The worst-case scenario is always Tommy John surgery.
Regarding Waldrep, after initially being told he was optioned Sunday following his second rough start in as many MLB outings, Waldrep told trainers he was more sore than usual after pitching. #Braves say they didn’t want to take any chances with their top prospect. So, IL it is.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) June 17, 2024
Braves fans rightly concerned with Hurston Waldrep's cameo
As far as big-league cameos go, this was about as bad as it could get for Waldrep. In two starts against Washington and Tampa Bay -- not exactly offensive behemoths -- Waldrep failed to get out of the fourth inning, giving up seven and six runs in back-to-back games. The theme with Waldrep's outings were similar, as he needs to continue developing his secondary pitches, or else he'll be shelled the second and third time through the lineup against big-league hitters.
More concerning, of course, is the injury. Waldrep's quick rise through the Braves system placed a lot of stress on his arm, which throws some wicked breaking pitches along with an upper-90's fastball. As Atlanta's first-round pick and hopefully one of the faces of their rotation in the years to come, any elbow ailment has to be taken seriously.
If the Braves front office has learned anything the last few weeks, it's that they need a more permanent solution to their back-end rotation issues. As tempting as it may be to recycle to likes of Waldrep, AJ Smith-Shawver, Darius Vines and more, none of those prospects are ready to take on the role full-time.
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