Atlanta has selected Waldrep with the 24th overall pick in the 2023 First-Year Player Draft.
Waldrep had the three best starts of his life in June of 2023 (vs. Connecticut, South Carolina and Oral Roberts) before crashing back to earth against eventual College World Series winner LSU in his final start as an amateur. He has a somewhat violent delivery, which partially accounts for his high-octane stuff and his control issues. Waldrep, who transferred from Southern Mississippi to Florida after his sophomore year, struck out double-digit batters in seven of his 19 starts as a junior, including three of his last four, but he also walked six batters on three occasions, including against LSU in that final start. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound righty has a mid-90s fastball that touches 99 mph and three secondary offerings with plus potential, most notably his upper-80s splitter and mid-80s slider. If, with the help of pro instruction, Waldrep is able to throw enough strikes to start, he has as high of a ceiling as any pitcher in this class other than Paul Skenes.