When Atlanta Braves catcher Sean Murphy returned from the IL and immediately started mashing, it seemed like the Braves’ catcher debate was over for the time being. Atlanta still liked Drake Baldwin a lot, but saw that he needed more seasoning and with Murphy hot, Baldwin had the luxury of being able to get up to speed as their backup. However, the tides have turned recently and manager Brian Snitker has clearly noticed.
After his torrid stretch after coming back from a broken rib, Murphy has cooled off considerably at the plate. In the month of May so far, Murphy has just a .194/.286/.258 with zero homers and 11 strikeouts in 35 plate appearances. Meanwhile, Baldwin has been one of the Braves’ best hitters this month and Atlanta’s offense honestly seems lost without him in the lineup.
Snitker seems to agree with that last assessment. After yet another big game from Baldwin against the Nationals on Tuesday and him starting in back-to-back games behind the plate, the Braves manager indicated that Baldwin would start again on Thursday it what appears to be a pretty significant playing time shift at catcher.
Baldwin will catch again Thursday, Snitker said, which would be the #Braves rookie’s third game caught in five. Snitker said he’ll juggle the catchers from series to series, based on matchups, who’s hot, etc.
— David O’Brien (@DOBrienATL) May 14, 2025
It sure looks like Drake Baldwin is the Braves’ primary catcher for now over Sean Murphy
Snitker can say that he is going to go game to game and match-up to match-up with his catching platoon, but it is abundantly clear that he is preferring Baldwin in the lineup right now and with good reason. The Braves’ rookie is slashing .556/.556/1.000 in a small 18 plate appearance sample this month and that was after posting a .945 OPS in April. Baldwin just flat out hits and while Murphy has had some big moment, the consistency at the plate just hasn’t been there.
There are going to be moments where Baldwin is going frustrate fans. He is still learning how to call games and his pitchers’ tendencies and it may be better to play Murphy against tough lefties while Baldwin gets his feet under him. However, the numbers don’t lie and for the moment, Atlanta has a better lineup when Baldwin is in it.
Will this change stick? That is hard to say as Snitker is a believer in playing the hot hand and we have seen him have two quality catchers behind the plate during the season and get a lot out of both of them before. However things turn out, it is very clear that Baldwin is the Braves’ guy right now and it is a position he may not relinquish.
