GDT 8/20/25 - Braves vs White Sox - Getting More Waldrep Data

I know we're all fans here but getting the 14th pick while having the season we've had would be a fail. I hate seeing us lose to but I also know we need a protected pick going into the offseason. We aren't making the playoffs bc that ship sailed already.
 
Yeah, people are overhyping Waldrep but his stuff isn't elite.

However, you can't rule out continual improvement that might take him to another level.
 
I know we're all fans here but getting the 14th pick while having the season we've had would be a fail. I hate seeing us lose to but I also know we need a protected pick going into the offseason. We aren't making the playoffs bc that ship sailed already.
This isn’t the NFL where high 1st round draft picks are virtually guaranteed to be impact players and be it immediately, if you have a GM worth a damn anyway. The MLB draft is a crapshoot in every sense of the word, way more so than the other drafts. Most of the great players aren’t drafted in the 1st round, and the Braves certainly do their best work after that.

On the other hand, this organization has a legacy of rarely having losing seasons that would be nice to keep going for history purposes, and the purposes of actually being entertained this season (which is the point of sports viewing). Or you can hope that they win the lottery and little Jimmy Smith Jr. out of Toledo Rivers High School hits his 1% outcome in 6 years.
 
it is more about a protected top 10 pick so you can sign a QO guy without losing that pick. They would lose the next round in that case.
No one loses their first pick anymore regardless of where it is in this CBA. It's second pick at the most. Which does make the potential but unlikely Baldwin pick an even more interesting part of this whole conversation.

Since we aren't in the tax this season, it looks like we would lose our third pick for signing a QO free agent.
 
No one loses their first pick anymore regardless of where it is in this CBA. It's second pick at the most. Which does make the potential but unlikely Baldwin pick an even more interesting part of this whole conversation.

Since we aren't in the tax this season, it looks like we would lose our third pick for signing a QO free agent.
I forgot about the new rule around the QO.. isn't there something about the amount of the contract as well.. that might tier it even more.
 
Ah, so we've already reached the point where we can't enjoy what Waldrep is doing because we have to argue over who was right and who was wrong. Who cares?
Man, I’m don’t remember anyone here ever saying Waldrep was any good before this recent stint in MLB with his new mechanics. So, I’m not even sure why we’re arguing about it.
 
it is more about a protected top 10 pick so you can sign a QO guy without losing that pick. They would lose the next round in that case.
This. If it isn't protected then we lose it if we wanted to sign a QO free agent. I don't care about winning record at this point for nostalgia purposes bc that's how the team feels about Snit so let's move past that. There's 3 things we need and that's a higher protected pick and the money that comes with it, Baldwin winning ROTY, and Waldrep progressing.
 
Man, I’m don’t remember anyone here ever saying Waldrep was any good before this recent stint in MLB with his new mechanics. So, I’m not even sure why we’re arguing about it.
Yeah everybody I think agreed he was a lost cause pretty much. I still don't think the team will go into the offseason with a spot being locked up in the rotation especially after the injuries the past 2 years but the 5th spot should have a lot of competition in the spring.
 
This. If it isn't protected then we lose it if we wanted to sign a QO free agent. I don't care about winning record at this point for nostalgia purposes bc that's how the team feels about Snit so let's move past that. There's 3 things we need and that's a higher protected pick and the money that comes with it, Baldwin winning ROTY, and Waldrep progressing.
we were wrong. The Braves 1st round pick is protected. Since they are not revenue sharing and stayed under the tax, they would lose the next highest pick. So if Baldwin wins rookie of the year, I assume that is the pick they would lose. If he doesn't then it is the second rounder.
 
I thought waldrep was best suited for the pen. I didn't think he had enough control to be a starter.. apparently I am not a great baseball scout and HOPEFULLY will enjoy my crow when he wins the CYA next year.
 
Strider just explained why his slider is no longer effective without the fastball being elite. He’s literally talking about the importance of sequencing, and describing how an elite pitch (his old fastball) makes another lesser pitch (his slider) more effective.

But yeah, I’m sure you watching minor league games during your golden years means you know more about the importance of sequencing on pitch effectiveness than the smartest pitching mind currently in the Braves organization.
Lmao. It was a joke. Relax. That being said I'm not trying to convince you of jack. I recognize the data..sequence..tunneling, etc. I don't try to do anything but note what I see. Yes..mostly the MINOR LEAGUE organizations.
 
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Well, I just quoted one. He was quoting another one. I’m sure you’re smart enough to pick out the other silly passive aggressive ones.

Again, you're making stuff up that doesn't exist. Since Waldrep's call up a year ago, no one on this site has been high on Waldrep.

You got your panties in a wad back in April because I called his splitter deadly, something that has been routinely echoed in the scouting community way to back to his college days. And you somehow wanted to argue about this minute detail despite the fact that the rest of my original post was detailing how terrible the rest of this stuff was and how poor his command was, which prevented him from being a viable MLB starter. I literally said that he was likely destined for the pen.


All the data still points to it being a very good splitter. Raw data supports that, and so do scouts/analysts. So whether or not it can be labeled "deadly" or not is really just splitting hairs. It doesn't matter if it's not the best splitter in baseball. It's still a very good pitch.
 
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Thats what I thought. No one expected Waldrep to do anything in the rotation at this point. I wanted him in the pen already. He is obviously overachieving right now. From what I have seen I think people will be asking who is better him or Schwellenbach this time next year. And thats not meant to downplay how good SS is. Call me crazy but I will stand on that opinion until proven wrong by the results.
 
Waldreps Chase% is actually well below average while his Whiff% is really high. So he must be getting swings and misses on pitches in the strike zone.
 
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