2023 MLB Draft Profile: Hurston Waldrep
After an endless amount of shortstops and third baseman, we finally make it to our next pitching prospect: Hurston Waldrep out of Florida. Although he isn’t on the same level as the top pitchers in this class, there is still a lot to like about him. Let’s take a deeper look at his 2023 MLB Draft Profile to see what those traits are!
Scouting grades: Fastball: 65 | Slider: 55 | Splitter: 65 | Control: 45 | Overall: 55
As we do with most of these pitching prospects, we will start will the good old fastball–a necessity for any pitcher who wants to succeed in today’s MLB. With Hurston Waldrep, the fastball is more than good enough to compete.
Sitting at that 95-99 mph range, it’s a very lively pitch with some solid run. He does struggle to command it at times, but when it’s on, it’s a very tough pitch for hitters to deal with. If he can learn to command it more, it can be a very deadly pitch and MLB-ready very soon.
But Waldreps best pitch in my opinion is his split/change, the pitch taking over MLB. It serves as a great change of pace pitch with tons of downward movement that leads to a lot of swings and misses.
His slider while not as good as his splitter or fastball, is still a very solid pitch in his three-pitch mix. It sits in the upper 80s but doesn’t quite have the movement you love to see with a slider. But with some work, it can easily become an effective outpitch for him.
The only real downside to Hurston Waldrep is his lack of control. Scouts seem to echo this with the 45 control grade. Rightfully so, he can become inconsistent and give up free bags, especially with the fastball that can get away from him at times.
While it is a slight concern, it’s something that can pretty easily be fixed under the right coaching. This could turn him into a truly elite prospect with the raw stuff he has on the mound.
I really like Hurston Waldrep; he has a three-pitch mix that has the potential to be deadly with some slight tweaks. The only real issue is the consistent command, but that shouldn’t deter teams from taking him in the first round.
It’s something that can easily be fixed, once it is, I don’t see any other weaknesses in the game of Hurston Waldrep.
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