Rookie Drake Baldwin has exceeded expectations in otherwise dismal Braves season

New York Times

3 days ago

ATLANTA – Drake Baldwin reported to spring training this year figuring he might make his major-league debut at some point this season with the Braves, whether because of an injury or a late-season call-up or whatever.
When he impressed everyone from Day 1 of camp, and especially after spring games began, Baldwin would get asked if he thought he was ready for The Show. He'd say yes, that he still had a lot to learn but that he'd made a ton of progress working with veteran catchers Travis d'Arnaud, Sean Murphy and Sandy León in the minors and at spring training.
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But ready to do this?
Even Baldwin, who made the Opening Day roster after Murphy broke a rib at spring training, concedes never envisioned being this good this soon.
With just over six weeks left in the season, Baldwin, 24, is favored to win the National League Rookie of the Year Award. The genial Wisconsin native — he's smart and confident but also unassuming — has been the brightest of the few bright spots in a disappointing Braves season.
'Coming into this year, I definitely was not expecting it,' said Baldwin, a disciplined left-handed hitter who entered Wednesday ranked second among qualified NL rookies in average (.285), OBP (.352), home runs (13) and OPS (.822), and was tied for the lead in RBIs with 53 in 87 games and first in slugging percentage (.470).
Among primary NL catchers — not just rookies; all catchers — with at least 80 games played, Baldwin ranked second in average (behind Dodgers veteran Will Smith's .312) and fourth in OBP, slugging and OPS.
And among all Atlanta players with 200 or more plate appearances, Baldwin was second in average and OPS, behind only Ronald Acuña Jr. (.306, 1.006) in both categories.
Baldwin has done it while playing the most difficult and demanding position on the diamond, mentally in terms of daily meetings and film study, and physically from the toll of working beneath pads in the summer heat and getting nicked up from foul tips, collisions and occasional wayward swings.
And he's produced all that offense, including an Atlanta rookie-record 10 RBIs in a series last week against the Marlins, while making steady progress behind the plate, where Baldwin has made 55 starts at catcher to go with 10 at designated hitter and 18 pinch-hit appearances.
The Braves always believed he would hit in the majors, but until last season in Triple A there were questions about his defensive prowess. No more. The defense is sound, and Baldwin and the rifle-armed Murphy have thrown out the most would-be base stealers in the NL since April 8, the day Murphy was activated from the injured list.
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'I think he'll continue to get better as he's out there, but he's as good or better than most that I watch every night,' Braves manager Brian Snitker said of Baldwin's work behind the plate, including blocking balls, calling pitches and throwing out runners, though Murphy is in another class in the latter, throwing out 22 of 50 runners to Baldwin's 8 of 55.
In short, Baldwin, a 2022 third-round draft pick out of Missouri State University, has room for improvement behind the plate, but has far surpassed expectations — reasonable or otherwise — of what he might do offensively in his first season in the big leagues, after playing only 141 games above the High-A level in the minors.
He's been one of the Braves' only consistent hitters, and with runners in scoring position Baldwin has been exceptional, leading Atlanta lineup regulars with a .321 average in 78 plate appearances and ranking second with an .882 OPS that trailed only Murphy's 1.028 OPS in 69 PAs.
'It's been incredible, and I think everyone's seen it,' Acuña said through an interpreter, when asked about Baldwin's development after the catcher's six-RBI game July 21 against San Francisco. Acuña added, 'Like we say, he's a horse.'
Baldwin has been a leading Rookie of the Year candidate most of the season. But he recently slipped to No. 2 in some mock polls behind Milwaukee's Isaac Collins, after the outfielder hit .325 with 10 extra-base hits, 19 RBIs and an .899 OPS in a 35-game stretch through July 28 including 25 wins by the Brewers, who have the majors' best record.
But Baldwin has been on another surge to pull even or ahead of Collins in recent projections. Baldwin batting .303 with eight extra-base hits and 21 RBIs in his past 25 games before Wednesday.
Drake Baldwin takes the top spot in the latest NL Rookie of the Year Poll 👏 pic.twitter.com/CXf7ceFrEp
— MLB (@MLB) August 13, 2025
Baldwin split catching duties with Murphy in that stretch and also had eight starts at DH, mostly while Marcell Ozuna was still mired in a long slump.
Ozuna has resumed primary DH duties since heating up at the plate — he started for the seventh time in eight games Wednesday — but Baldwin said the occasional DH start had helped him stay sharp at the plate as the marathon MLB season wore on.
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Ozuna will be a free agent after the season and the Braves could opt to use their catchers in that role more in 2026, rather than spend money on another DH.
'I think when you get hot hitting, DHing is nice to just keep it rolling,' Baldwin said, 'rather than when you have a good game and then it's a day or two before you get to get in there again (at catcher). I got to experience (the long season) a little bit in the minor leagues; I know it's lot different here.
'But yeah, right now I think I'm still young, feeling good. I've been able to catch a decent amount. So either way, to get in the lineup, it feels pretty similar.'
Having a veteran catcher as stable and grounded as Murphy has provided, in many ways, an ideal situation for Baldwin to break in at the big-league level. Some veterans might resent having a kid take a portion of their playing time.
Baldwin said Murphy has been nothing but helpful at all times with him, sharing advice on opposing pitchers during games — when both are in the lineup together or Murphy has a day off — and working together daily with Braves pitchers, going over game plans, scouting opposing hitters and the like.
It's been even better for Baldwin since León, his mentor at Triple-A Gwinnett and at spring training, was brought up to the major league roster as a third catcher. If he has any questions or wants advice, Murphy and León are nearby.
'I think they're each other's (biggest supporter),' Snitker said of Murphy and Baldwin. 'And I really like having Sandy here. He's got a lot of experience too. But yeah, I think Murph's been great for Drake with his experience, and it's a good little mix.'
Veterans and coaches say Baldwin is like a sponge, asking questions, soaking up answers — but also sharing his own thoughts at meetings and on the field, not at all reluctant to assert himself even at the beginning of the season.
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If he ever carried himself like a rookie, that's long past, and starting pitchers new to the team such as midseason pickups Joey Wentz and Erick Fedde have commented about Baldwin's maturity and how easy he is to work with.
In a season in which little has gone as the Braves had hoped, Baldwin's performance and development have been even better than the Braves could have hoped.
First baseman Matt Olson played in his 740th consecutive game Wednesday, extending the longest active games-played streak and tying Braves great Dale Murphy for the fifth-longest such streak that began during baseball's divisional era since 1969.
Olson's streak began with 134 consecutive games played with the Oakland Athletics and has continued with all 606 games played by the Braves since he was traded to Atlanta before the 2022 season.
The five longer games-played streaks in MLB's divisional era: Cal Ripken (2,632), Steve Garvey (1,207), Miguel Tejada (1,152) and Pete Rose (745).
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