Breakout campaign for Braves' Baldwin extending from Fall League to Premier12

PHOENIX -- Drake Baldwin has had a busy 2024 already with stops in Double-A Mississippi, Triple-A Gwinnett and Peoria in the Arizona Fall League. That itinerary is about to add a few international stops.

The Braves' No. 5 prospect was included in Team USA's Premier12™ roster announcement on Monday. He joins Top 100 prospects Carson Williams (Rays), Matt Shaw (Cubs), Justin Crawford (Phillies) and Termarr Johnson (Pirates) on an American side loaded with top talents not currently on Major League 40-man rosters.

"I've never played for Team USA, and it's definitely been a dream of mine to wear 'USA' across my chest," the Wisconsin native said. "So I'm super excited."

The reasons why manager Mike Scioscia and the USA Baseball staff chose the 23-year-old catcher are clear. He was one of the best-performing offensive backstops in the Minors during the regular season, finishing with a .276/.370/.423 line and 16 homers in 124 games between Double-A and Triple-A. He was even better at the Minors' top level with Gwinnett: .298/.407/.484 over 334 plate appearances.

The underlying data backed up the slash line. Baldwin led Triple-A catchers (min. 1,000 pitches seen) with a 93.1 mph average exit velocity and 51.9 percent hard-hit rate. For reference, no Major League catcher had a hard-hit rate higher than 50.0 percent this season under the same playing-time constraints.

Baldwin's walk rate also jumped from 9.2 percent with Mississippi to 15.6 with Gwinnett, and he thinks his eye contributes just as much to his in-game power as his natural strength as a left-handed hitter.

"I think the biggest thing is just swinging at good pitches,” Baldwin said. "I think that's something I've done pretty well, just swinging at pitches over the plate. If they’re balls, you're probably not going to hit them too hard. So swinging at the best pitches and getting my 'A' swing off as much as I can [are big]."

Baldwin has continued to hone his craft in the Fall League, especially of late. After going 2-for-3 with two walks in Peoria's 7-6 win over Salt River in seven innings at American Family Fields on Saturday, the 2022 third-rounder has reached base nine times in his last two games, pushing his AFL slash line to .372/.438/.512 through 10 contests.

The recent surge came from a mechanical adjustment he made in the box as Baldwin tries to build Major League readiness.

"Get my nose in there, stand a little taller on my backside and just try to swing at the pitches I know I can hit," he said. "I've gotten a couple of those and I haven't missed them."

It's that willingness to constantly improve that has helped the Missouri State product jump from being the No. 137 Draft prospect in 2022 to his current prominent role on the prospect landscape. But after seeing their top catching prospect play 134 games across all levels this season, it was worth wondering whether the Braves would let Baldwin join Team USA for a tournament with a group stage in Mexico from Nov. 9-14 and a Super Round in Tokyo from Nov. 21-24.

Wonder no more.

"They love guys playing in big situations," Baldwin said. "They're all for it and playing for USA is something they're all about."

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The experience alone could be big for Baldwin ahead of a potential 2025 debut. He's already circled 20-year veteran Rich Hill as a teammate he'll ask constant questions of at Premier12. He's one of three catchers on the roster alongside Willie MacIver and Chris Okey. While he hasn't been told about his specific role – whether it be as the full-time starter, backup or even lefty bat off the bench -- the Atlanta prospect, who will join the squad for initial workouts in Phoenix next week, will take anything, if it means bringing a gold to the red, white and blue.

"I'm sure it's whatever gives them the best chance to win," he said. "Playing for Team USA, that's the only thing that matters."