July 18, 2025 – Coolray Field

The Gwinnett Stripers dropped a tight 3–2 contest to the division-leading Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp on Thursday night, despite a strong five-inning start from Hurston Waldrep. Waldrep allowed just one run on two hits, striking out five in one of his more polished outings of the season.

The Stripers tied the game in the fifth on a clutch RBI single from catcher Jason Delay, and David Leonard brought them within one again with a two-out solo homer in the ninth—his 12th of the year. But Jacksonville relievers held strong, with Josh White locking down his first save.

Hunter Stratton was charged with the loss after allowing a go-ahead double to Mack in the sixth, while Dylan Dodd gave up a solo homer to De Los Santos in the eighth. Gwinnett’s bullpen combined for five strikeouts across four innings but couldn’t keep the red-hot Jumbo Shrimp at bay.

Gwinnett falls to 37–57, while Jacksonville improves to 57–36.

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Let’s focus in on the Atlanta Braves’ No. 2 prospect Hurston Waldrep, who delivered another composed and dominant performance: five innings, one earned run, and five strikeouts, continuing a stretch of outings that suggests he’s rounding into form.

Over his last four starts, Waldrep has posted a 1.93 ERA across 23.1 innings, with 22 strikeouts and just 8 earned runs allowed. That includes this most recent outing, where he commanded four pitches, generated weak contact, and looked every bit like a future contributor in Atlanta.

Sequencing and Stuff: Dialed In

Waldrep threw 83 pitches Thursday night, mixing his arsenal in a way that shows clear growth from the erratic version we saw in early June:

• Slider (33% usage): Averaged 89.2 mph with a max of 92.0. It generated 4 whiffs and a 31% whiff rate, with a solid 44% zone rate. He used it as both a chase pitch and a strike-stealer to righties.
• Curveball (29% usage): Sat at 82.1 mph and generated a 62% whiff rate, easily his most deceptive pitch of the night. All 8 whiffs on the curve came against lefties.
• Splitter (19%): Averaged 86.6 mph and worked down effectively, with a 56% zone rate and a wild 65.4 mph average exit velocity when put in play.
• Four-seam fastball (19%): Topped out at 96.5 mph, used to change eye levels. While he didn’t generate a whiff, it helped set up his secondaries and landed in the zone at a 63% clip.

Notably, Waldrep’s overall contact profile was elite:

• Opponents hit just .164 against him
• Allowed only 3 balls in play over 95 mph EV
• Finished with a 28% CSW rate (called strikes + whiffs)

What’s Changed?

A month ago, Waldrep’s fastball command was dragging down outings. In this start, he didn’t need the fastball to carry the load. Instead, he let the slider and splitter handle punchouts and leaned on the curveball to keep hitters guessing.

He also showed a better feel for location:

• Zone% overall: 47%
• Whiff% across all pitches: 33%
• No walks and just 2 hard-hit balls (95+ mph) on the night

Big Picture

Waldrep’s July ERA now sits at 1.13 across 16 innings, a sharp contrast from his 6.26 ERA in June. Even more telling: since his blowup on June 8 (0.1 IP, 6 ER), he’s made 5 starts with a 2.04 ERA, dropping his season mark to 4.78.

He’s not just surviving Triple-A, he’s adapting. That’s a very encouraging sign.

With Atlanta’s rotation still in flux and the trade deadline approaching, Waldrep is giving the Braves something to think about. He could force the issue before September if he continues sequencing like this and keeps the walks in check.