Alex Anthopoulos thinks Hurston Waldrep could be a rotation option sometime in 2024

The right-hander out of Florida has one of the most unique pitch mixes in all of baseball

President of Baseball Operations Alex Anthopoulos, speaking to MLB Network Radio, had high praise and lofty expectations for one of Atlanta's pitching prospects - 2023 1st rounder Hurston Waldrep. 

Speaking to MLB Network Radio, he expressed confidence in Waldrep's stuff being able to contribute next season. 

Waldrep, 21, was Atlanta's 1st round selection last year, coming in at #24 overall out of the University of Florida. 

He had the fastest progression through the minor leagues of any pitcher drafted in 2023, finishing his season in AAA after eight starts and a 1.53 ERA. When you combine his college production last season with his time in the minors, he pitched 131 innings with 197 strikeouts and 73 walks in 2023. 

Waldrep's successful ascent through the minors is partially due to his unique pitch mix - Waldrep throws both a splitter and a gyro slider, two distinct pitches that are both relatively uncommon in MLB

The splitter, a variation on a changeup, racked up a 64% swing and miss in 2023, compared to the MLB average of only 35%. He throws it with very little movement to the armside, unlike most - of the six other splitters that come out from a similar release point or higher, his has the least horizontal movement - and so it drops below bats rather suddenly as it approaches the strike zone. Michael Baumann, writing for Fangraphs after last summer's draft, explained that this unpredictable, late movement is due to its relative lack of spin: 

But the attribute of Waldrep’s that interests me most is his splitter, which does not spin. When a projectile is not stabilized or directed by spin, it wobbles inconsistently from here to there, like a stricken bug, or an errant musketball.

(Just to clarify: it does spin, but not very much. Most splitters come in at under 1000 RPMs.)

The gyro slider is a bit more common in MLB, but Waldrep's is still an unique offering from most. Unlike most sliders, which use the spin of the ball from side to side to induce some measure of horizontal movement, Waldrep's gyro slider has similar spin to a bullet or a football, stabilizing the flight. This results in a movement profile that's almost entirely due to gravity (versus allowing the spin of the pitch to induce some measure of horizontal movement). 

And the most unique thing about Waldrep is that he throws both. It's an unconventional pairing, as the gyro slider is a high-spin pitch and the splitter is a low-spin pitch. 

Here's Baumann again, discussing just how rare the combination of those two pitches are in an individual MLB pitcher's arsenal: 

This season, 42 major league pitchers have thrown a splitter or a changeup at 900 rpm or less, and 26 have thrown a breaking ball at 3,200 rpm or more. The only player to appear on both lists is Shohei Ohtani, because, well, I don’t know what I expected. 

Waldrep's differential between the two pitches isn't quite as high as Shohei's 2300 RPM difference, but it's still rare to see. Combine that with a fastball that can hit 98 mph and you have a trio of pitches that are difficult to hit in isolation, but virtually impossible when sequenced correctly and tunneled well. 

While there are some concerns over Waldrep's walk rates last season - he gave out 5.0 free passes per nine innings in college baseball and 4.9 BB/9 during his time in the minors last season - there's also a lot to like and, depending on how the early part of the season goes, Waldrep could be a major league option as soon as midseason in 2024. 

UPDATE: Alex Anthopoulos told us at the Winter Meetings that Waldrep would receive an invite to spring training. 

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