Well Hurston Waldrep has turned into one of the big stories of the 2025 season for Atlanta, as he had a breakout August. He now boasts a 3.55 xFIP and 2.66 FIP over 35.2 major league innings this season. His splitter is still clearly the star of his arsenal and gives him a true plus (maybe even double-plus) pitch, with a ridiculous 45.7% whiff rate. What’s been different for Hurston this season is that he has reigned in his command walking a not-only-manageable, but actively good 2.78 batters per
9 innings, and he has completely revamped his non-splitter arsenal. I’ve said it before, but it is extremely impressive of Hurston to have been able to evolve this much as a pitcher in just one season. He’s essentially abandoned his four-seamer in favor of a sinker and cutter, neither of which are particularly good, but are not disastrous pitches like his four-seamer and the movement and variety helps keep batters off-balance. Introducing a good curveball has also been instrumental to his success. His 9 strikeout, 5.2 innings performance against a very good Philly lineup was his most impressive yet and inspired some additional faith that these improvements could be at least somewhat sustainable. If Waldrep can be a real number 3 starter, that would be a huge development.
On the other side, the Mariners will be starting the veteran Bryce Miller. Miller had pitched like a solid fourth starter his previous two seasons, but has only managed to be a replacement-level innings-eater this season, as his strikeouts and walks have both gone in the wrong direction. His primary four-seamer and his sinker have both started getting absolutely hammered this season, resulted in that crater in performance. His sinker has lost some sink and arm-side run, making it more similar to his four-seamer, which perhaps has contributed to this decline. Braves hitters should look for Miller’s fastball variants and look to hit them hard.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Saturday, September 5, 7:15 p.m. EDT
Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA
TV: FanDuel Sports Network South / Southeast
Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan
