Drafted in the third round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of Missouri State, he never really produced gaudy numbers in his three minor-league seasons. He had a respectable .272 batting average and .807 OPS, but had not cracked any top-100 prospect lists.
Despite his 2024 season being slightly worse than his 2023, he was named to the Future’s Game. And by the end of the season, the hype was starting to build.
Luckily for the Braves, that hype kept Baldwin on multiple 2025 preseason top 100 lists, including an industry-high No. 17 overall ranking by Just Baseball. He joined big-league camp to begin spring training, but he could have never expected what would ensure the rest of the year.
Sean Murphy would be placed on the IL with a cracked rib after being hit by a pitch during a spring training game. That left only Chadwick Tromp, Sandy León, and Curt Casali as his competition, so Baldwin now had a clear path to significant playing time.
After batting .286 with four RBIs, eight walks, and just four strikeouts, he was promptly named the Opening Day starting catcher. After a rough, and unlucky, 1-for-18 stretch in which his wOBA fell a whopping 316 points lower than his xwOBA, Baldwin became one of the better offensive catchers in baseball.
He would go on to produce a slash line of .274/.341/.469 with an .810 OPS, 125 wRC+, and 3.1 fWAR, all of which ranked in the top six for catchers with at least 400 plate appearances. And the expected metrics supported this.
This earned him National League Rookie of the Year honors, beating out Cade Horton, Caleb Durbin, and Isaac Collins.
2026 Sophomore Season
Everyone knows about the dreaded “sophomore slump” that most professional athletes run into during their second season. However, through the first 13 games of the 2026 season Baldwin has debunked any notions that he may suffer from that disease.