Braves’ Drake Baldwin new contract prediction would be perfect outcome for Atlanta originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
It's been a very impressive start to the 2026 campaign for the Atlanta Braves, something that some have been surprised by.
The Braves struggled a lot a season ago, and that was likely only due to the injuries they dealt with on both sides of the baseball. Even now, it isn't like Atlanta has been healthy, but it has still managed to take care of business, sitting at 20-9 and 8-2 over its last 10.
We have to give credit where credit is due, and much of the reason for the impressive play on both sides of the ball is Drake Baldwin, the young catcher who has really done a great job behind the plate and offensively.
Baldwin has been an excellent defensive catcher and is also hitting .311 with seven home runs on the year, showing that he's one of the better young players in baseball at 25 years old.
With pre-arbitration deals being as prevalent as ever, one of the top MLB insiders suggested that Atlanta needs to pay him now before he becomes past what it wants to pay.
“Baldwin was the 2025 NL Rookie of the Year and he’s having an even better start to the 2026 season. He’s quietly become one of the best offensive catchers in baseball and ranks among the game’s best defensive backstops (87th percentile in blocks above average and 79th percentile in framing, according to Statcast). It’s time for the Braves to give him a long-term deal before he becomes too expensive,” Jim Bowden of The Athletic wrote.
It would be unsurprising to see Baldwin get a deal that we've seen others get around the league over the past few months. If there's one player on this Braves roster who deserves to get paid, it's the youngster out of Madison, Wisconsin.
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