New Braves rumor suggests exciting replacement for Bryce Elder in rotation
The starting rotation is an area for the Atlanta Braves to at the very least be somewhat concerned about. Having Chris Sale and Reynaldo Lopez pitch as well as they have is very encouraging to see, but with Spencer Strider out for the season and Bryce Elder replacing him, there has to at the very least be a bit of an unsettling feeling among Braves fans.
Elder has pitched pretty well as Strider's replacement. His 4.79 ERA in four starts isn't pretty, but that can be attributed to one brutal start against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He has allowed two runs or fewer in all three of his other appearances.
While he's been fine for now, flashbacks to his brutal second half of last season cannot be ignored. Elder went from an All-Star to brutal in an eyeblink. Fortunately, if Elder has similar struggles this season, Atlanta has an exciting alternative that a new rumor suggests could come to fruition.
Hurston Waldrep could potentially be in the Braves rotation sooner than we thought
At the end of his assessment of Braves prospect Hurston Waldrep, David O'Brien of The Athletic (subscription required) had this to say.
"Waldrep has an upper-90s fastball and features a devastating splitter that should rank among the best pitches of that variety in MLB once he arrives, which could be this summer."
"Which could be this summer." That's right. O'Brien is hinting that a Waldrep debut could be as soon as this summer. That'd be very exciting for Braves fans.
The Braves took Waldrep in the first round of the 2023 MLB Draft and he's already pitching in the upper minors. He's made seven starts for Double-A Mississippi and has been solid, posting a 3.32 ERA in 38 innings of work.
After a rough beginning to his season, Waldrep has allowed one run or fewer in each of his last five starts, posting a 1.17 ERA in that span. He's been dominant. A promotion to Triple-A feels like it can happen any day now, and if he pitches well there, he might be called upon sooner than later. The Braves might even consider promoting him from Double-A with as well as he's pitched as they did with Michael Harris II in 2022.
Waldrep obviously doesn't have the track record of MLB success that Elder does considering he hasn't thrown a single big league pitch, but his ceiling feels way higher than Elder's. Waldrep was taken in the first round for a reason, and can be a star one day.
The fifth spot is Elder's for now, but that could change if he struggles or if Waldrep forces Atlanta's hand.