It’s been a tough start to the season for the Atlanta Braves, but there’s no reason to hit the panic button just yet. Despite dropping their first three games of the year, this isn’t uncharted territory for the Braves. In fact, the team has started 0-3 in two of the last seven seasons-2019 and 2021-seasons that both ended with postseason appearances, including a World Series championship in 2021.

In franchise history, Atlanta has made the playoffs eight times despite opening the season with a three-game losing streak, including two of their four title-winning years (1914 and 2021). The longest season-opening losing streak for a Braves playoff team is four games, which occurred in 2012 and was matched in 2021. A slow start is frustrating, but it’s not the end of the world for a club with such a rich postseason pedigree.

The Braves’ season-opening struggles began on Thursday, March 27, 2025, with a 7-4 loss to the San Diego Padres. Despite Ozzie Albies driving in three runs, including a two-run homer, and Austin Riley adding another long ball, the Braves’ pitching staff, led by Chris Sale, couldn’t hold off the Padres. Sale allowed three runs and six hits in five innings. The team hoped to turn things around over the weekend, but the next two games proved to be more of the same.

On March 28, the Braves came close but fell 4-3. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jake Cronenworth homered for the Padres, while Jarred Kelenic’s game-tying homer was not enough to overcome San Diego’s lead. On March 29, it was a pitchers’ duel, but the Braves fell 1-0. Spencer Schwellenbach delivered six shutout innings for Atlanta, but a seventh-inning RBI single from Yuli Gurriel handed the Padres the victory.

One player feeling the early heat is catcher Drake Baldwin. The Braves’ top prospect is 0-for-7 with a walk and two strikeouts in his first taste of Major League action. However, don’t let the box score fool you-there’s more to Baldwin’s early struggles than meets the eye.

Despite the lack of hits, Baldwin’s expected batting average on the five balls he’s put in play sits at an impressive .360. He’s crushed some of the hardest-hit balls in the lineup, with two barrels in those five batted balls and exit velocities of 109.6, 101.6, 99.1, 96.4, and 103.7 miles per hour-all qualifying as “hard hit” (exit velo above 95 mph). In fact, Baldwin is one of just nine players in baseball this season with at least five batted balls of 95 miles per hour, but he’s the only one of the group yet to record a base hit.

First big league hit for Drake Baldwin!#BravesCountrypic.twitter.com/sI0Cs8cop1 — Atlanta Braves (@Braves) March 29, 2025 Through his first three games, Baldwin has recorded one hit in 11 at-bats, a single, which gives him a .091 batting average. He has yet to hit a home run or drive in any runs, and his on-base percentage is .091, with a slugging percentage of .091, resulting in an OPS of .258. Baldwin’s first career hit came on March 29, 2025, during a game against the Padres when he lined a single to left field. While his numbers are modest so far, Baldwin’s approach at the plate remains solid, with a career 13.9% walk rate heading into the 2025 season and a low strikeout rate. The Braves will look to bounce back against the Padres on March 30, 2025.

This early tough luck should not overshadow the fact that Baldwin is showing all the signs of a future star. Ranked as Atlanta’s top overall prospect by MLB.com, Baldwin is also the seventh-best catching prospect in the minors and the No. 62 overall prospect in all of baseball. The 24-year-old catcher was given the rare honor of starting on Opening Day, becoming the first Braves position player to do so since Tyler Pastornicky in 2012 and the first to do so as a catcher since the franchise moved to Atlanta in 1966.

The Braves’ season-opening woes are far from a reason for concern. This is a team with postseason experience, and their current struggles are no more than a small bump in the road. As for Baldwin, his impressive underlying numbers suggest better days are ahead, and his potential is undeniable. With a full season to go, expect the Braves to bounce back quickly, as they’ve done so many times before. There’s no need to panic just yet-the best is yet to come for Atlanta.