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Hurston Waldrep Likely to Enter Braves Starting Rotation?
MLB.com's Mark Bowman writes that "there's reason to be excited" about what Atlanta Braves right-hander Hurston Waldrep "might offer over the next few weeks." In his season debut on Friday against the San Francisco Giants in relief, Waldrep walked four in two innings. He also walked six in 7 2/3 innings at Triple-A Gwinnett before being called up, but four of those came in a rain-soaked, three-inning outing on June 16. Bowman thinks that Waldrep has the higher upside than right-hander Reynaldo Lopez, who made the start for the Braves on Friday. Lopez is starting Wednesday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals, so Waldrep could pitch in relief at some point that night. With Bryce Elder potentially being skipped in Atlanta's rotation due to a recent rough stretch, Waldrep could be the top candidate to make a start or multiple starts before the All-Star break in July. The 24-year-old figures to be a rotation option in the second half after he went 6-1 with a 2.88 ERA (3.21 FIP) and 1.19 WHIP with 55 strikeouts and 22 walks in 56 1/3 innings over 10 outings (nine starts) for the Braves last year. Waldrep is absolutely an upside arm for savvy fantasy managers to stash now. He's rostered in only 5% of Yahoo leagues.
Source: MLB.com - Mark Bowman
Source: MLB.com - Mark Bowman
