Braves Waldrep's Ability to Battle Reflection of Maturity as Pitcher

The Atlanta Braves rookie righty was in some situations where he would have folded in the past, but he's been standing tall against tough competition

Waldrep's latest start showed more of how much he's matured | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

It’s a bit of a repeating discussion from his last start. However, with the hitters he had to face Sunday night, Atlanta Braves righty Hurston Waldrep’s ability to battle shone even brighter. 

On two occasions, he was faced with a jam. The first saw him faced with the bases loaded and one out. The other was runners on first and second with two outs (albeit partially due to an intentional walk. 

He escaped the first by striking out Kyle Schwarber, who is seeking his 50th home run of the season after a four-home run performance, and by getting Bryce Harper to ground out. In the next jam, he struck out JT Realmuto, who has an .815 OPS with men on this season. 

A major sticking point for Waldrep until pretty recently was that if he got into trouble, he couldn’t come out on top. That whole narrative has turned on its head. 

The splitter was as lethal as it has been. All nine strikeouts came on the pitch. He reached a new season-high for pitch count at 102, so he’s stretched out a bit further as well. All of this allowed him to limit the Phillies to a single run in 5 2/3 innings pitched and finish the night with a 1.01 ERA. 

His ERA went up, sure. But you know you’re having a good season when you allow a single earned run, and you’re ERA goes up. 

Over the last 30 days, Waldrep has had the lowest ERA in the Major Leagues and is one of five qualifying pitchers who have had an ERA below 2.00 during that span. He was the only National League pitcher of the five. 

He’s not just having a strong season for a rookie. He’s been one of the top pitchers in the game since he got called up less than a month ago. 

It shows how much he’s grown as a pitcher. He’s taken the time to get his mechanics right and has been willing to take advice from veterans, a notable example being catcher Sean Murphy. It’s a simple approach to improvement, but not all players with the talent to succeed take the advice or are willing to make the necessary changes. 

Let’s look at center fielder Michael Harris II, for example. He’s totally turned his season around because he finally took the advice of making changes. While he did, it took time to embrace it. 

If Waldrep had taken long to embrace the change, he’s not here right now. The right place at the right time is missed. 

Even if he hasn’t necessarily dominated as of late, how he’s gotten the job done is still a reflection of the work he’s put in. It’s one thing to cruise, but to be able to succeed when you’re not reveals another layer. 

Perhaps as the calendar flips to September, Waldrep’s efforts are rewarded with Rookie of the Month, Pitcher of the Month or maybe both.