Drake Baldwin
| Drake Baldwin | |||||||||||||||
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| Atlanta Braves – No. 30 | |||||||||||||||
| Catcher | |||||||||||||||
| Born: March 28, 2001 Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. | |||||||||||||||
Bats: Left Throws: Right | |||||||||||||||
| MLB debut | |||||||||||||||
| March 27, 2025, for the Atlanta Braves | |||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics (through 2025 season) | |||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .274 | ||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 19 | ||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 80 | ||||||||||||||
| Stats at Baseball ReferenceLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |||||||||||||||
| Managerial record at Baseball ReferenceLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Drake Randall Baldwin (born March 28, 2001) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2025.
Amateur career
[edit | edit source]Baldwin attended Madison West High School in Madison, Wisconsin, where he played baseball and ice hockey.[1] As a junior in 2018, he led the state of Wisconsin with 43 goals scored.[2] In hockey, Baldwin was a center and left wing.[3]
Baldwin enrolled at Missouri State University to play college baseball for the Missouri State Bears. He played in 17 games during a shortened season in 2020, and then played 43 games in 2021, batting .291 with four home runs and 24 RBI.[4] During the summer of 2020, he played in the Northwoods League for the K-Town Bobbers,[5] returning in 2021 to play for the Madison Mallards, where he batted .316 with four home runs over 52 games.[6] Baldwin became a strong prospect for the upcoming draft as a junior in 2022, in which he hit .341 with 19 home runs and 70 runs batted in over 60 games.[7][8]
Professional career
[edit | edit source]Baldwin was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the third round with the 96th overall pick of the 2022 Major League Baseball draft.[9][10]
Baldwin made his professional debut in 2022 with the rookie-level Florida Complex League Braves and also played with the Single-A Augusta GreenJackets, hitting .258 over 24 games. He opened the 2023 season with the High-A Rome Braves, was promoted to the Double-A Mississippi Braves in late August, before later being promoted to the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers in September.[11] Over 109 appearances split between the three affiliates, Baldwin slashed .270/.384/.460 with 16 home runs and 61 RBI.[12] He opened the 2024 season with Mississippi and was promoted to Gwinnett in June.[13] Baldwin was selected to represent the Braves in the All-Star Futures Game at Globe Life Field.[14][15] Over 124 games between the two teams, he hit .276 with 16 home runs and 88 RBIs.[16] After the minor league regular season ended, Baldwin was named to the preliminary roster of the Arizona Fall League's Peoria Javelinas,[17] and to the United States's roster for the 2024 WBSC Premier12.[18]
On March 21, 2025, the Braves selected Baldwin's contract after he made the team's Opening Day roster.[19][20] He hit his first major league home run on April 16, against Toronto Blue Jays reliever Jeff Hoffman at Rogers Centre.[21] Baldwin finished his rookie campaign slashing .274/.341/.469 with 19 home runs and 80 RBI. On November 10, he was named the National League Rookie of the Year.
Personal life
[edit | edit source]Baldwin's mother Bridgette is a teacher.[22]
References
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External links
[edit | edit source]- Career statistics from MLB · ESPN · Fangraphs · Baseball Reference (Minors)
- 2001 births
- Living people
- 21st-century American sportsmen
- African-American baseball players
- Atlanta Braves players
- Augusta GreenJackets players
- Baseball players from Madison, Wisconsin
- Florida Complex League Braves players
- Gwinnett Stripers players
- K-Town Bobbers players
- Madison Mallards players
- Major League Baseball catchers
- Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award winners
- Mississippi Braves players
- Missouri State Bears baseball players
- Peoria Javelinas players
- Rome Braves players