"Drake Baldwin had nothing short of a phenomenal start to his MLB career. Of course, you probably knew that, since he won the NL Rookie of the Year award. While the team struggled a bunch offensively for various reasons, none of it seemed to deter Drake Baldwin from making the most of his rookie campaign, earning a permanent stint in the big leagues. Here's how his season panned out in 2025."
"Hailing from Madison, Wisconsin, Baldwin became the Braves' third-round, 96th overall pick in the 2022 Draft out of Missouri State. He hit well at every stop of the minors, and flew through three levels in 2023, though he started back at Double-A to begin 2024. His promotion to Triple-A in the middle of that season saw him post a 138 wRC+ through the end of that campaign."
"While Baldwin's tear in Triple-A in 2024 led to him flying up prospect rankings, he wasn't exactly expected to set the world on fire. ZiPS had him around 1.8 WAR in 461 PAs as a point estimate before the season began, which is certainly respectable for an MLB starter, but not the sort of guy you trip over yourself to give playing time in lieu of Murphy."
Drake Baldwin rose from Madison, Wisconsin, to become the Braves' third-round pick in 2022 and hit well throughout the minors. He moved rapidly through three levels in 2023, began 2024 at Double-A, then reached Triple-A midseason and posted a 138 wRC+ through the end of the campaign. Baldwin earned a Spring Training invite in January 2025 and made the Opening Day roster after being selected in March. Expectations were modest — ZiPS projected about 1.8 WAR in 461 plate appearances — but a ribcage fracture to Sean Murphy in Spring Training opened the path for Baldwin to assume primary catching duties and seize the opportunity.
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