#drake-baldwin

#drake-baldwin

The 2026 Hall of Fame Class will be announced on Tuesday. Several former Braves on on the ballot for consideration, but the one name that likely is being followed the most is Andruw Jones. In his 9th and second to last year of initial eligibility, Jones is projected to have a very good shot at finally being inducted. While many in Braves Country have been known for years Jones deserves the honor, we will know if it happens in reality in less than 24 hours.

Drake Baldwin had nothing short of a phenomenal start to his MLB career. Of course, you probably knew that, since he won the NL Rookie of the Year award. While the team struggled a bunch offensively for various reasons, none of it seemed to deter Drake Baldwin from making the most of his rookie campaign, earning a permanent stint in the big leagues. Here's how his season panned out in 2025.

It was just announced this morning that the Major League Baseball Player's Association (MLBPA) has named Ronald Acuña Jr. "Comeback Player of the Year." And breakout rookie Drake Baldwin received the "Outstanding Rookie" award. If you can recall, Acuña's return to Truist started out (on the very first pitch) with a solo shot to left field back in May. This had the crowd erupting and at once gaining the hope that the offense has turned around for the season.

The young righty threw a lot of pitches in this one, as it took 102 pitches to get through 5.2 innings, but the splitter was working. Waldrep got whiffs on 52% (13 of 25 swings) of his splitters, and he ended up with 9 strikeouts on the evening. The Philadelphia Phillies clearly struggled to figure out what the pitch was doing, and Waldrep looked every part the former first-round pick. He ran into really only a couple of issues.

Baldwin's maturity and ability to stay ready in a limited role raises questions about whether consistent playing time is essential for his development.