This story was excerpted from Mark Bowman’s Braves Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
SAN DIEGO -- Drake Baldwin’s first series as a Major Leaguer validated the Spring Training assessments made by Chris Sale, Spencer Strider and every other Braves player who said, “He’s ready.”
“He’s been outstanding these first three days, just the total game that he has played,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said.
Baldwin, ranked by MLB Pipeline as baseball’s No. 62 prospect and the Braves’ No. 1 prospect, had the pleasure of having his mother and many other friends and family members from the Madison, Wis., area in attendance for his MLB debut on Opening Day. He had a couple tough-luck hitless days before notching his first hit in his first plate appearance Saturday in San Diego.
The opposite-field single against Randy Vásquez will forever stand as a treasured milestone moment for Baldwin. He slipped one past the goalie like he so often did during his successful high school hockey career.
“Just hitting it where they’re not is the biggest thing,” Baldwin said. “It’s hard to get the first one. Now you can take a breath and just get back into playing the game.”
Though they gained a successful outcome, Padres pitchers walked away from some of those early battles bruised. Baldwin registered three exit velocities of 100-plus mph while remaining hitless through the first two games. This frustrating stretch was highlighted during the ninth inning Friday, when his 109.6 mph comebacker hit Padres closer Robert Suarez’s leg and went directly to first baseman Luis Arraez, who stepped on first base for the out.
That was a far different outcome than the Braves had on Saturday, when Jake Cronenworth doubled off left-handed reliever Aaron Bummer’s foot and scored the game’s only run a few minutes later. The ball hit off Bummer’s foot and went into the third-base dugout.
Baldwin got another bit of tough luck on Opening Day, when his bid for his first career home run landed in the glove of a leaping Jackson Merrill, at the center-field wall. He also bruised Adrian Morejon’s leg with a two-out, 101.6 mph comebacker in the sixth inning Friday. Instead of bounding away from the reliever, the ball stayed on the mound, allowing for the easy out that prevented Marcell Ozuna from scoring the go-ahead run from third base.
Moments like these lead to going 1-for-22 with runners in scoring position through the season’s first three games.
Baldwin showed his improved arm strength when he recorded a 1.94 pop time while negating Merrill’s attempt to steal second base Saturday in the second inning. To put this in perspective, Sean Murphy had a 1.95 average pop time to second base last year and a 1.90 in 2023, his first season with the Braves.
Murphy likely will begin a Minor League rehab assignment with High-A Rome on Friday. He could rejoin Atlanta’s roster at some point the following week. But that doesn’t mean Baldwin would be sent back to Triple-A. His first few days as a big leaguer have shown why the Braves have considered keeping him around even if he’s playing just two or three times a week.