Top prospect Baldwin gets vote of confidence from Sale?

NORTH PORT, Fla. – Drake Baldwin has no choice but to believe he would be ready if he begins the upcoming season as the Braves’ primary catcher. But an even greater reassurance can be found via the compliments 2024 National League Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale and other veteran pitchers have made.

“He’s got an unbelievable work ethic,” Sale said. “He’s got a great routine and he’s around all the right guys. That’s what you want from a guy who is in position to take over a very important position. He’s not afraid to ask questions and he’s doing all the right things.”

Sale gave this complimentary assessment after throwing four scoreless innings with Baldwin serving as his catcher in a 0-0 tie against the Twins on Tuesday at CoolToday Park. This was the first time the accomplished hurler had ever worked with the 23-year-old prospect, who ranks as MLB Pipeline’s No. 62 prospect and the Braves' No. 1 prospect per MLB Pipeline.

“I thought he looked great back there,” Sale said. “He never looked overwhelmed and never looked overmatched. He was on point really. So, that was a lot of fun.”

These two could be paired again three weeks from now, when the Braves open the regular season in San Diego.

Sale is expected to make his sixth career Opening Day start and first since 2019. As for Baldwin, he will spend the next couple weeks attempting to prove he is ready to make his MLB debut and serve as Atlanta’s primary catcher while Sean Murphy is on the injured list.

“I think the people around me have put me in a good spot,” Baldwin said. “Obviously, I’ve never played in the big leagues, but it’s still just baseball games and I can just go out there and I’ve still got to go out there and do my thing. I think I’d be comfortable learning all of the pitchers, trying to get a relationship with them if it does happen. I just have to be as ready as I can for the moment.”

There has been a lot of buzz surrounding Baldwin since Monday morning, when it was learned Murphy will be sidelined four-to-six weeks with a fractured left rib suffered when he was hit by a pitch on Friday. This timeline creates the possibility the 2023 All-Star catcher could return to Atlanta’s lineup at any point within the regular season’s first three weeks.

“As for (missing a couple weeks) being the worst-case scenario, it’s not too bad,” Murphy said. “But I’ve never broken a rib. We’ll see how it feels.”

The Braves have the option to fill Murphy’s void with either Sandy Leon or Curt Casali, a pair of veteran catchers who are in camp as non-roster invitees. Both would have to pass through waivers before being sent back to the Minors. Both would also have the right to reject an assignment. So, it may not make sense to risk losing catching depth, especially with the expectation Murphy’s absence will be short term.

Leon significantly aided Baldwin’s development while the two were at Triple-A Gwinnett last year. There would seemingly be a great benefit to the two working together again this year, knowing Baldwin could still end up spending a majority of the upcoming season in the Minors.

“He’s an eager kid,” Murphy said. “He looks great. He’s steadily improving.”

There has never been much reason to worry about Baldwin’s offensive capabilities. When he was drafted out of Missouri State in the third round of the 2022 MLB Draft, there was some thought he would hit enough to at least be a first base or designated hitter option. But his defense has steadily improved over the past few years.

AJ Smith-Shawver, the Braves' No. 3 prospect, said Baldwin’s defense considerably improved after he made the leap to the Triple-A level last year. Veteran pitchers like Sale and Reynaldo López are among those who have taken notice of these improvements.

“The way he has been framing and receiving has been very impressive,” López said.

Baldwin is far from a finished product. He has room to improve his throwing and it will take time for him to learn both his pitching staff and opposing big league hitters. But he might be just a few weeks from receiving on-the-job-training at the game’s highest level.

“Everyone is fighting for a job now,” Baldwin said. “It’s all about competing and they’ll choose who they want on the Opening Day roster.”