RADIO
Drake Baldwin is the Real Deal at Catcher
Atlanta Braves catcher Drake Baldwin has quickly become one of the best offensive catchers in baseball in just his second season in the big leagues. Baldwin went 1-for-4 at the plate with a solo home run in Sunday's 7-2 win over the hosting Los Angeles Dodgers and is now hitting .297/.383/.509 with an .892 OPS, 10 home runs, 32 RBI, 35 runs scored, and a stolen base in 41 games across 188 plate appearances. The 25-year-old backstop has cooled off since his hot start earlier in the season, but he has still hit .257 (9-for-35) with three long balls, a double, seven RBI, and five runs scored in May. The former third-rounder in 2022 out of Missouri State was the National League Rookie of the Year in 2025, when he hit .274/.341/.469 with an .810 OPS, 19 homers, and 80 RBI in 124 games. Even though Sean Murphy has returned from offseason hip surgery, Baldwin will play regularly in Atlanta and is a bit part of the first-place Braves' offense. His strong start is backed up by the fact that he's in the 90th percentile in hard-hit rate.
Source: Baseball Reference
Source: Baseball Reference
