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Nothing has changed in the prognosis for Waldrep, who is set to undergo Tommy John surgery, this was done merely as a procedural move to free up a spot on the Braves’ 40-man roster for Elieser Hernandez on Thursday. Waldrep is expected to miss most, if not all, of the 2027 season while recovering.

Waldrep was hurt in Triple-A a month ago in his first outing there after a three-start stint in the majors. The 24-year-old, who is 6-3 with a 4.99 ERA in 13 starts and two relief appearances as a major leaguer since debuting in 2024, figures to miss all of 2027 after this.

Waldrep has been shut down since July 19th, when he pulled himself from a start for Triple-A Gwinnett with right arm discomfort. There has been no information about specifically what part of the arm was bothering him, but it seems that he’s on the mend. Still, if he begins throwing this week, he’ll need to fully ramp up and then face live hitters before a rehab assignment, so it will be a stretch for him to come back and pitch meaningful innings this season.

Waldrep’s velocity dipped significantly and he was lifted after throwing just 36 pitches during Sunday’s start for Triple-A Gwinnett. The 24-year-old has shown some flashes of potential at the highest level over the last two years, but hasn’t been consistent enough to stick in the big-league rotation. The general thought when he was drafted was that his excellent splitter would make him a quality reliever if the starter experiment didn’t work. His absence would be a hit to Atlanta’s pitching depth down the home stretch.

Waldrep has allowed 10 runs on 13 hits in 10 2/3 innings since coming back from injury. He clearly needs a bit more time to work off the rust in the minor leagues. JR Ritchie will now start on Sunday against the Cardinals, but he also remains off the fantasy radar for now.

The seven runs came on a grand slam from Ryan O’Hearn in the first and a three-run shot from the same batter two innings later. In all, Waldrep allowed six hits, walked five and struck out two. His fastball averaged 93.3 mph tonight, down from 94.6 mph in his previous start. He averaged 95.6 mph last year before his elbow problems arose. It seemed likely that he’d start again Sunday against the Cardinals, but it’s possible the Braves will go in a different direction after this.

That means Bryce Elder will get the ball for one of the final two games of the series with Grant Holmes likely to draw the starting assignment in the other. Elder had his previous start skipped for some extra rest. Waldrep authored a strong performance against the Cardinals last week, allowing three runs over 5 1/3 innings, during his first start of the season. He offers enough strikeout upside to be interesting in deeper fantasy leagues.

Waldrep punched out four opposing hitters in the contest while issuing one free pass. All of the damage against him came on a three-run blast by Jordan Walker in the opening inning. Waldrep settled in beautifully afterwards though, keeping the Cardinals off the board into the sixth. He exited with a 5-3 lead and in line for a victory, but the Braves’ bullpen couldn’t oblige. He generated nine whiffs on 76 pitches, posting a solid CSW of 32 percent. That should be good enough to earn him another start against the Pirates in Pittsburgh next week.

Waldrep draws the starting assignment after he wasn’t needed in relief during Wednesday’s contest, thanks to a stellar performance from Reynaldo López. The 24-year-old tossed a pair of scoreless frames in relief during his season debut against the Giants last Friday. He offers enough strikeout upside that he’s a decent streaming option for fantasy managers in deeper mixed leagues.

It’s unclear if the Braves plan to immediately insert Waldrep back into their rotation or if he’ll be an option to piggyback with someone the first time through, perhaps with Reynaldo Lopez on Friday evening against the Giants. Either way, with his talent level, he’s on the mixed league radar.

Waldrep walked two and struck out five while throwing 43 of his 71 pitches for strikes. His velocity remains slightly down, as he averaged 95 mph on his sinker, but he posted a solid 24 percent whiff rate overall. The command could use some time after he had loose bodies removed from his elbow earlier this season, so he should make at least one more start, possibly two, before he becomes an option for Atlanta.

Waldrep had been working with the Braves’ Rookie-level affiliate in the Florida Complex League. He’ll continue to work his way back at Triple-A with an eye toward returning to the Braves’ rotation before the All-Star break.

He had been working in the Rookie-level FCL over the past few weeks, so this qualifies as good news for Waldrep’s chances of getting back to the big leagues in short order. Waldrep had loose bodies removed from his elbow in spring training. He might be able to get back to the big leagues before the end of June if everything goes right.

Waldrep struck out four, issued three walks and also uncorked a wild pitch in his second rehab outing in the lower minors. The 24-year-old former top prospect will need a couple additional outings, especially some against higher-level competition, before he’s ready to rejoin Atlanta’s rotation sometime around late June or early July.

Waldrep walked two, but he threw all six of his pitches during his 26-pitch outing. He was also consistently around 97 mph with his fastballs, so this was a positive outing overall. He can take up to a month on this rehab assignment, so we still wouldn’t expect him in Atlanta until the end of June.

Waldrep is returning from surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow. If all goes well on his rehab assignment, he could join the Braves rotation in about a month. However, it’s not guaranteed that there will be room for him.

Waldrep’s timeline doesn’t change with the transfer, it just opens up a spot on the 40-man roster for Maverick Handley. Waldrop is still recovering from surgery to remove loose bodies in his elbow in February, and the 24-year-old will likely be back at some point this summer if there’s no setback.

Waldrep continues working his way back from surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow back in February. The 24-year-old former top prospect will progress to facing hitters in live batting practice before he’s cleared to head out on a minor league rehab assignment. It seems likely he’ll be on the shelf until around midseason before he’s ready to rejoin Atlanta’s rotation.

Waldrep is going to need several weeks to ramp up his throwing program in a spring training style build up before he’s ready for a rehab assignment. The 24-year-old former pitching prospect underwent surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow back in February. It’s possible he’ll be ready to join Atlanta’s rotation at some point in the early stages of the second half.

Waldrep remains out indefinitely after undergoing surgery last month to remove loose bodies from his right elbow. The 24-year-old doesn’t have an official return timetable yet but Braves manager Walt Weiss expressed optimism that Waldrep will be able to pitch again at some point later this year.