Description
Drake Baldwin is a top catching prospect for the Atlanta Braves. Baldwin was drafted in the 3rd Round (86th Pick) of the 2022 MLB Draft by the Atlanta Braves. Baldwin played college baseball for Missouri State. He’s the highest Bear to be selected since Jeremy Eierman was taken by the Oakland Athletics in the second round with the 70th overall pick in 2018.
Baldwin showed flashes during a pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign that lasted 17 games. He followed in his sophomore year by earning second-team All-Missouri Valley Conference honors while batting .291 and having a perfect fielding percentage in league play. The 6-foot-1, 225-pounder then followed it up with a junior season that caught the attention of scouts from across the country. He had his best season in a Bears uniform, batting .341 with 19 home runs and 70 RBI and leading Missouri State into postseason play for the first time in his career.
In 2023, Baldwin excelled in the Atlanta Braves minor leagues playing 92 games for Rome, 14 for Mississippi and 3 for Triple-A Gwinnett. The 22 year old hit .270 with 16 HR’s, 61 RBI’s, a staggering .384 OBP and .844 OPS. The sky is bright for the Atlanta Braves prospect! In 72 Triple-A games in 2024, Baldwin batted .298 with an .891 OPS, 12 home runs and 55 RBIs. His on-base percentage was .407. He showed solid plate discipline with a 16.2% strikeout rate. He had nearly as many walks (52) as strikeouts (54).
Baldwin was the lone Atlanta Braves representative at the 2024 All-Star Futures Game. In 2023, the Braves sent RHP Spencer Schwellenbach who has been great as of late for the major league club. Baldwin was the DH for the NL squad and hit ninth in the lineup. In three plate appearances, he went 1-for-2 with two RBIs. The first RBI came from a sacrifice fly off of Astros RHP prospect A.J. Blaubaugh. The second RBI was a solo home run into left-center field that put the NL Futures team up 5-1.
The ball left Baldwin’s bat at 107.3 MPH, making it the hardest-hit ball of the game. Yes, Baldwin’s opposite-field homer was the hardest-hit ball in a game that was filled with the world’s most talented baseball prospects. It also traveled 411 feet, making it the farthest-hit ball of the game. Baldwin was already making a name for himself among Braves Country but his performance in the Futures Game is going to introduce a whole new audience to the slugger!!
After the 2024 minor league regular season ended, Baldwin was named to the preliminary roster of the Arizona Fall League’s Peoria Javelinas, and to the United States’s roster for the 2024 WBSC Premier12. He tore up the Arizona Fall league collecting 20 Hits in 53 At-Bats for a .377 Batting Average and .943 OPS. He also scored 10 runs in 13 games and was stellar behind the plate.
The featured blue and grey Stance Baseball Socks were game worn and also practice worn by Drake Baldwin in 2024 as a member of the Gwinnett Stripers. The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. In 72 games with the Stripers, Baldwin batted .298 with an .891 OPS, 12 home runs and 55 RBIs. His on-base percentage was .407. He showed solid plate discipline with a 16.2% strikeout rate. He had nearly as many walks (52) as strikeouts (54). Baldwin has signed one sock and added “2024 Game Worn Go Braves” in silver. He has also signed the other sock and added “2024 Practice Worn Game Worn Go Braves” in silver. There were player issued labels on the bottom of each sock which have come off. Awesome Pair of Socks from the Atlanta Braves 2024 Prospect of the Year!!!
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