On Thursday night, the Atlanta Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds in 11 innings to take the series 3-1. The game went back and forth in the later innings and was concluded thanks to somewhat of an unlikely hero.
With 2 outs in the bottom of the 11th inning, Braves’ rookie Drake Baldwin stepped to the plate with Ozzie Albies on second base. Baldwin took a 2-2 pitch the opposite way, hitting a line drive that snuck past a diving third baseman and found the left field grass. Albies streaked around third to score the winning run and Baldwin proved that he is ready for the spotlight in the big leagues.
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Drake Baldwin belongs with the Atlanta Braves big league club
It sounds a little weird to say but the 2025 Atlanta Braves are truthfully still trying to find their identity. Between outfield dilemmas and options regarding the starting rotation, such as utilizing six different arms, Brian Snitker has yet to be completely comfortable with his roster as a whole.
When Sean Murphy was injured late in spring training, Atlanta called up one of their top prospects Drake Baldwin to take over the primary catching duties. Baldwin took the opportunity to show he belongs in the big leagues but ever since Murphy has returned from the IL, the rookie backstop has found himself in an awkward position.
Baldwin is good enough to be an everyday catcher but Murphy and his six-year/$73 million contract has created a road block so to speak. Instead of sending Baldwin back down to the minors, the Braves decided to keep him in the majors as a backup catcher and depth piece. Thursday showed that Baldwin is getting more out of this experience than if he had been back with Gwinnett.
David O’Brien, the Braves beat writer for The Athletic, broke down Baldwin’s success so far in his early career. Baldwin has a .279 average and three homers this season in just 67 plate appearances. While this is obviously impressive, O’Brien points out a statistic that is further proof the pressure of big league games does not bother the 24-year-old.
Baldwin has had 25 at-bats with two outs in an inning and has come through with a hit 10 times, creating a .400 batting average in those situations. Thursday night was the biggest spot Baldwin has been in this season and delivered. Atlanta has no option but to continue to find ways to get Baldwin big league at-bats because he has already proved he belongs.