Drake Baldwin

Drake Baldwin
Atlanta Braves
Catcher
Born: (2001-03-28) March 28, 2001 (age 23)
Madison, Wisconsin
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  United States
WBSC Premier12
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Tokyo Team

Drake Randall Baldwin (born March 28, 2001) is an American professional baseball catcher in the Atlanta Braves organization.

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]

Baldwin enrolled at Missouri State University to play college baseball. 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 RBIs.[3] During the summer of 2021, he played in the Northwoods League for the Madison Mallards and batted .316 with four home runs over 52 games.[4] Baldwin became a strong prospect for the upcoming draft as a junior in 2022, in which he hit .341 with 19 home runs and seventy home runs over sixty games.[5][6] After the season, he was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the third round with the 96th overall pick of the 2022 Major League Baseball draft.[7][8]

Baldwin made his professional debut in 2022 with the Florida Complex League Braves and also played with the Augusta GreenJackets, hitting .258 over 24 games. He opened the 2023 season with the Rome Braves, was promoted to the Mississippi Braves in late August, and was promoted once again in September to the Gwinnett Stripers.[9] Over 109 games between the three teams, he slashed .270/.384/.460 with 16 home runs and 61 RBIs.[10] He opened the 2024 season with Mississippi and was promoted to Gwinnett in June.[11] Baldwin was selected to represent the Braves in the All-Star Futures Game at Globe Life Field.[12] After the minor league regular season ended, Baldwin was named to the preliminary roster of the Arizona Fall League's Peoria Javelinas,[13] and to the United States's roster for the 2024 WBSC Premier12.[14]

References

  1. ^ "High-scoring Drake Baldwin propels Madison West's postseason hockey hopes". AP News. 2018-02-08. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  2. ^ "Prep Mania Profile: Drake Baldwin". ESPN.com. 2019-01-04. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  3. ^ "Year in Review: Here are the southwest Missouri athletes who defined 2022". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  4. ^ "Baseball: Trio of Verona grads, Madison West standout to play for Mallards". fitchburgstar.com. 2021-05-15. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  5. ^ Scranton, Lyndal (2022-05-06). "Drake Baldwin is leading from behind the plate for MSU Bears". Springfield Daily Citizen. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  6. ^ "Keith Gutin never saw Drake Baldwin before signing him. Now he's MSU's next MLB prospect - Business News". 2022-06-04. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  7. ^ STAFF, STATE JOURNAL (2022-07-20). "Madison area grads Drake Baldwin, Alan Roden picked in MLB draft". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  8. ^ Wheeler, Wyatt D. "Atlanta Braves select Missouri State's Drake Baldwin in 3rd round in 2022 MLB Draft". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  9. ^ "Baldwin's big week leads to SAL award". Northwest Georgia News. 2023-08-29. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  10. ^ "Drake Baldwin Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News". MiLB.com. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  11. ^ Johnson, Jack (July 2, 2024). "Stripers' Drake Baldwin Selected to 2024 NL Futures Game Roster". MILB.com. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  12. ^ Bowman, Mark (July 8, 2024). "No. 11 prospect owes Futures Game nod to Braves' backstops". MLB.com. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  13. ^ Callis, Jim; Dykstra, Sam; Mayo, Jonathan (September 25, 2024). "Here are the 2024 Arizona Fall League rosters". MLB.com. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
  14. ^ Trezza, Joe (October 21, 2024). "Four Top 100 prospects named to Team USA Premier12™ tournament roster". MLB.com. Retrieved October 23, 2024.