Braves thurston' for a victory to avoid Phillies sweep

"It's not much hyperbole to say Waldrep's two-start debut in 2024 was an unmitigated disaster. He struck out 3 guys, walked 8, and gave up 3 home runs in 7 innings, which was good (?) enough for a 16.71 ERA. The former first-round pick looked anything but. 2025, however, has been much better over 30 innings. While the 0.90 ERA is certainly not sustainable, he's now striking out more than he's walking, and he's been able to avoid the long ball."

"The pitch mix has completely changed for Waldrep. His splitter has always (and continues to be) his splitter, but he's made a number of changes. He exchanged his four-seamer for a cutter. He's dropped his usage of a slider and increased the usage of his curveball. And there's a sinker now involved. It seems like a lot of tinkering, but some of it has been returning to old pitches (especially the use of the curveball)."

"The Statcast information looks a lot better. If there is a warning sign in here, it's the lack of whiffs. It's currently sitting around league-average, and that likely means the K rate will tick up a little bit. Ultimately, that shiny ERA is going to go up, but sometimes, it just takes a little good luck and some confidence to get a guy going. Mike Minor and Kyle Wright both, for some recent examples, had some initial struggles before settling down and making it work."

Braves lost consecutive one-run games recently. Hurston Waldrep's two-start debut in 2024 produced 3 strikeouts, 8 walks, 3 home runs and a 16.71 ERA in seven innings. In 2025 he has allowed a 0.90 ERA over 30 innings while improving his strikeout-to-walk ratio, avoiding the long ball, and recording a K rate just over 7 per nine. Waldrep has altered his pitch mix—adding a cutter and sinker, reducing slider usage, and increasing curveball usage while maintaining his splitter. Statcast metrics look improved but whiffs sit at league average, implying peripherals may regress. Jesus Luzardo carries a 4.23 ERA with a 3.35 xFIP, over 10 K/9 and league-average walks, though a LOB% below 70% is notable.

Read at Battery Power