The injury to catcher Sean Murphy will keep him off the Opening Day roster for the Atlanta Braves, and speculation abounds that top prospect Drake Baldwin could wind up filling his spot, at least temporarily.
If the analysts are correct, that wouldn’t be a bad thing.
MLB.com’s Mark Bowman named Baldwin as the Atlanta prospect who has made the most noise in camp this spring. His take was published Monday, the same day the team said Murphy would miss four to six weeks with a cracked rib.
Of Taylor, Bowman wrote:
“Baldwin ranks as baseball’s No. 63 prospect and he will continue to rise the ranks if the past few days are an indication of how this season might go. The 23-year-old catcher hit an opposite-field double against the Pirates on Feb. 26 and then went 3-for-4 against the Marlins two days later. His defense has steadily improved and he’ll likely have time to further develop at the Triple-A level to begin the season. But if there’s a chance to be given regular playing time, he could reach Atlanta at some point this year.”
Given the injury to Murphy, it’s good news that Baldwin appears close to making the leap to the majors.
In 2024, Baldwin split time between Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Gwinnett, and when adding in 13 games in the Arizona Fall League, he hit .276 with 16 home runs, 88 RBIs and 129 hits in 124 appearances.
Thus far this spring, Baldwin has appeared in six games and is 4-for-12 (.333) with a double and two RBIs.
He got the start behind the plate on Tuesday, catching reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale.
And Sale gave him high marks after throwing four no-hit innings with one walk and four strikeouts in a scoreless tie with the Minnesota Twins in North Port, Fla.
“I thought he looked great back there,” Sale said of Baldwin, per MLB.com. “He never looked overwhelmed and never looked overmatched. He was on point really. So, that was a lot of fun.”
An endorsement from Sale could go a long way toward helping Baldwin make the Atlanta roster to start the season.