With Travis d'Arnaud signing with the Los Angeles Angels this past offseason, there were some questions surrounding the Atlanta Braves depth chart at catcher. Sean Murphy was expected to take over the primary catching role, but he suffered a cracked rib in spring training that had him on the IL for 4-6 weeks.
Atlanta then called up one of their top prospects, Drake Baldwin, who was thrown right into the fire — and has remained with the big-league club ever since. Not only did Baldwin earn his right to stay in the Majors, he has now found himself getting more playing time even with Murphy healthy, and is currently the favorite to win National League Rookie of the Year. As rough as 2025 has been for Braves fans so far, they are watching a star develop right in front of their eyes.
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Braves catcher Drake Baldwin on track to be a superstar
Baldwin having success at the big-league level is not exactly a surprise to many Braves fans. He had a great deal of success in the Minor Leagues and actually put his name in elite company before he even made his MLB debut.
Drake Baldwin has batted balls of 105.2 mph, 106.7 mph, and 109.5 mph
— Garrett Spain (@BravesMILB) July 7, 2024
20 of his 66 (30.3%) batted balls at Gwinnett have been 105+ mph
He’s the only Triple-A player with 30+ % going 105+ mph (min 50)
MLB players to do that in 2024: Giancarlo Stanton
Aaron Judge
Shohei Ohtani
So far this season through 32 games (104 plate appearances), Baldwin is hitting .340 with five homers and 15 RBI. There are still some questions about his defensive ability, but he has thrown out a couple of baserunners this season and has shown signs that he has potential in that aspect of his game as well.
This catching duo on the Braves roster this year almost feels like 2023, when both Murphy and d'Arnaud made the NL All-Star team. No matter who Brian Snitker puts behind the dish, production is expected — and at just 24 years of age, Baldwin is showing he could be the backstop of the future in Atlanta.