Braves Prospect Heralded as Best Potential Closer in Minors

The Atlanta Braves have a plethora of starting pitcher prospects in the organization, allowing them to move some of them around if they choose to

Atlanta Braves pitcher Hurston Waldrep is currently toiling away in AA Mississippi, but could skyrocket to the majors if Atlanta decides to make him into a closer. / Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Braves have invested heavily in adding pitching prospects to the organization. 

Atlanta’s spent the highest percentage of their MLB Draft bonus pool on pitching prospects, being the only team to surpass 60% of all dollars paid to drafted players from 2018-2023. They’ve spent 61% of their pool on pitching, although when you account for their usual late-1st-round draft position, it’s only 7th place for total dollars spent on account of their draft pool being smaller.

Having all of these pitching prospects have given the team a few things - the ability to stack pitching prospects in “layers”, each with a different expected debut date, but also versatility. Atlanta has enough starting pitching prospects that they can experiment if they choose to do so, and MLB Pipeline has some ideas about how they could use some of these starters. 

Naming the Top 10 Closing Pitcher Prospects in the Minor Leagues, MLB Pipeline analyst 

Sam Dykstra singled out a Braves prospect as the best potential closer, naming Hurston Waldrep to the #1 spot. 

Explaining their decision to bestow the honor on Waldrep, Dykstra explained his experience in the role and the polish of his pitches: 

Waldrep was last used as a true reliever as a freshman at Southern Mississippi before transitioning to starting roles there and at Florida, and the Braves drafted him 24th overall as a potential starter last July. But control problems continue to follow the 22-year-old, in part due to a high-tempo delivery, and those haven’t stopped this season at Double-A Mississippi (10 walks in 19 innings). Waldrep’s splitter is one of the best of its kind in the Minors, and his upper-80s slider has gotten strong whiffs in his early outings in 2024. Those two pitches, along with a mid-90s fastball, could play up in shorter stints, and given Atlanta’s win-now mode, the organization could prefer to use Waldrep’s high-quality stuff quickly. Of note, 34-year-old closer Raisel Iglesias becomes a free agent after the 2025 season, so a succession plan can’t be far off.  - Sam Dykstra, MLB Pipeline

Iglesias is set to make $16M in 2025, the final year of a four-year deal he signed with the Los Angeles Angels in December 2021 upon reaching free agency. He was acquired by Atlanta at the next trade deadline, with the Braves sending pitchers Tucker Davidson and Jesse Chavez back to LA. 

Davidson went 2-6 with a 6.72 ERA in 26 appearances (eight starts) for LA prior to being designated for assignment late last season. The Kansas City Royals acquired him for cash considerations and he’s currently pitching in the minor league system of the Baltimore Orioles, who claimed him off of waivers in October. 

Chavez, rather famously, put up a 7.52 ERA for LA across 10.2 innings before being waived and re-claimed by Atlanta. 

Iglesias is 5-4 with a 1.98 ERA and 42 saves across portions of three seasons with Atlanta, primarily as the team’s closer.