Not even a calendar year has gone by since the 2022 draft. And while both Owen Murphy (1st Round Pick) and JR Ritchie (1st Round Supplemental Pick) stole the show last week with remarkable debuts in Low-A Augusta, Braves 3rd round pick, Drake Baldwin is demanding your attention.

Drake Baldwin’s Development per Prep Baseball Report

Prep Baseball Report is such a fun site. They do an extraordinary job scouting and providing analysis on high school players all around the country. Here’s their piece on Drake. If you’re not into clicking the link, here’s an excerpt I found interesting:

Then: July 6th 2016: The ball jumped off the barrel for hard contact and he showed some barrel control. Mostly pull side contact, path works around the ball some with raw bat speed and strength. 84 mph exit velocity from the tee. 4.43 runner down the line. Well above average athlete.

~PBR

Now: May 5th, 2022: The only question mark is his receiving. Some say yes, others do not believe he can stick behind the plate. For the season the left handed hitter is slashing .319/.443/.548 with nine home runs and 40 RBI. Even more importantly his K rate is just 13%, walking 32 times against 28 strikeouts in 210 plate appearances.

~PBR

The Career of Drake Baldwin

Baldwin started his collegiate career in 2020 at Missouri State and in both his collegiate career and professional career, he has one letter beside his baseball reference registered fielding site: C. He’s a thick kid, coming in at 6’0 210 pounds and while I’d like to dream that he could move to a corner OF or moonlight at 1B, I think the Braves likely drafted him to be a catcher and a catcher he’ll be, whether in this org or another.

Drake is 22, so I’m not trying to get too ahead of myself, but he is known for a strong bat and he has destroyed baseballs at High-A Rome. While he only has 1 HR, hard contact has been abound. His slash line stands at .259/.412/.444 and his patience at the plate has been his calling card since college.

On the defensive side, Drake is known for his game calling, but not for his ability to control baserunners. It’s a real achilles heel for him and will likely be a major point of focus for his development. As stated above, I know PBR feels differently, but I think Drake’s a catcher.

He also has a batting stance that looks like a mirror of Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell.

Path to the Bigs

If Shea Langeliers is the prototype for what Drake’s advancement might look like, he could get a promotion to AA later this year and that pattern will likely continue in 2024, where he’ll start in AA and get promoted to AAA on the back side of the season with eyes on the prize in 2025.

Thanks for reading! If you’re looking for more Braves Journal content, check out the latest piece from Clint Manry on A.J. Minter.

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