It\u2019s been a long time since the Braves had an extended problem at catcher. Drake Baldwin is coming to make sure that there are no problems while Sean Murphy is out.<\/p>\n
Spring training is currently rocking and rolling (in the closest way possible that the idea of spring training can be associated with rocking and rolling) and usually around this time of year, if you aren\u2019t worried about the Grapefruit League pennant race then you\u2019re usually worried about making sure that all of the regular starters get through preseason without suffering an injury.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re barely into March and the injury bug has bitten the Atlanta Braves once again. Indeed, Sean Murphy got hit by a pitch earlier this week and now he\u2019s on the shelf for the next 4-to-6 weeks due to cracked ribs. It really stinks to see that for anybody but especially for Sean Murphy. Injuries played a big role in derailing his 2024 season and while it\u2019s good that this won\u2019t take him out for all that many regular season games, this is still valuable time to get ready for the regular season without having to do soon the fly when the games actually count.<\/p>\n
If Murphy was going to make a real bounce-back here in 2025 then a healthy start to the season would\u2019ve been imperative in making that a reality. Now, he\u2019ll have a tougher road ahead and it\u2019s a bummer to see, really. I still believe that Sean Murphy will have a bounce-back season once he\u2019s healthy but this definitely threw a rench in the early portion of those plans.<\/p>\n
It also means that for the first time in a while, we\u2019re going to have some serious questions for the Braves as far as catcher goes \u2014 and when I say a while, I mean a while.<\/em> All the way back in 2017, I wrote an article on here about how the Braves really haven\u2019t had a bad situation at catcher since the Fresh Prince days of 1993. I suppose now\u2019s as good of a time as any to update how things have gone for the Braves at the catcher spot since I wrote that post.<\/p>\n So there you have it: Ever since 1993, you could legitimately make the argument that the only year where the Braves weren\u2019t getting reliable production from their catcher was 2021. Other than that, the Braves have been able to rely on consistent production from their catcher for over 30 seasons now. That\u2019s an incredible run of form for any team and it really has helped the Braves over the years that they\u2019ve had their ducks in a row when it comes to one of the more important positions on a baseball diamond.<\/p>\n So with that being said you can understand just how there might be a little bit of pressure on Drake Baldwin to come out of the gates swinging. Now granted, every fanbase hopes and prays that their top prospect will become a club legend for years and years to come but for Baldwin, I think it\u2019s very clear that the Braves are expecting their top prospect to deliver the goods.<\/p>\n He\u2019s gotten plenty of reps here in spring training already and that was before Sean Murphy went down due to injury. Before the injury, there were already murmurs about whether or not Chadwick Tromp had a firm grasp on the backup catcher role. Now that it appears that the backup catcher is going to be starting a decent amount of games going forward, those murmurs have turned into loud questions about whether or not Drake Baldwin will be ready to step into the starting role for Opening Day.<\/p>\n Big day at the plate for Drake Baldwin \ud83d\ude24<\/p>\n MLB's No. 63 prospect drives in a pair of runs on a three-hit day for @Braves<\/a>, with one single leaving his bat at 105.6 mph: pic.twitter.com\/wQwJP5ctOQ<\/a><\/p>\n — MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) February 28, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n
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