{"id":43160,"date":"2025-03-22T00:53:07","date_gmt":"2025-03-22T00:53:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=43160"},"modified":"2025-03-22T00:53:07","modified_gmt":"2025-03-22T00:53:07","slug":"top-prospect-drake-baldwin-makes-braves-opening-roster-chris-sale-says-kid-is-ready","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=43160","title":{"rendered":"Top prospect Drake Baldwin makes Braves\u2019 opening roster; Chris Sale says kid is ready"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. \u2014 Six days before Opening Day, the Atlanta Braves\u2019 roster was all but finalized Friday when they added three players \u2014 right-handed relievers H\u00e9ctor Neris and Enyel de los Santos and rookie catcher Drake Baldwin \u2014 who had been non-roster invitees to spring training.<\/p>\n

Each of the moves was expected, given their performances and the team\u2019s needs, as well as recent comments from manager Brian Snitker hinting at what was coming. Least surprising of all was Baldwin, the team\u2019s No. 1 prospect.<\/p>\n

It was known that catcher Sean Murphy would begin the season on the injured list after fracturing a rib two weeks ago, and Baldwin is the best option to fill in while Murphy was sidelined. Still, Baldwin, 23, didn\u2019t want to assume anything until he was told by Snitker.<\/p>\n

That happened Friday morning at the Braves\u2019 spring headquarters at CoolToday Park in North Port, Fla., before they bussed to Port Charlotte to face the Tampa Bay Rays.<\/p>\n

\u201cNice to officially hear it, to talk to Snit and have him tell me,\u201d Baldwin said, smiling after catching eight innings of the Braves\u2019 7-3 win, including four scoreless innings by Chris Sale, whom Baldwin is scheduled to catch in Thursday\u2019s season opener at San Diego.<\/p>\n

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The #Braves today selected RHP Enyel de los Santos, RHP H\u00e9ctor Neris and C Drake Baldwin to the major league roster.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Atlanta Braves (@Braves) March 21, 2025<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI mean, I didn\u2019t know for sure, obviously it was still up in the air and they were going to take the guys that they wanted\u201d on the Opening Day roster, Baldwin said. \u201cBut it\u2019s nice to know I\u2019m going over to San Diego, and I\u2019m going to start out there. (Bench coach Walt Weiss) brought me (to Snitker\u2019s office), and it was like, \u2018We think that you\u2019re in a good spot for the team.\u2019 And just, like, \u2018Congratulations, you\u2019re going to be going with us.\u2019 So it was pretty cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baldwin paused and added, \u201cI think I had an idea. It wouldn\u2019t have lasted this long if it wasn\u2019t going to happen. I just think I started smiling or something. It\u2019s something you dream of your whole life, so it\u2019s pretty cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

Teammates were thrilled for Baldwin, who began last season in Double A and will make his major-league debut on Opening Day, catching the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner.<\/p>\n

A third-round draft pick in 2022 out of Missouri State University, Baldwin used a stellar performance last summer after a promotion to Triple A to go from not being in any Top 100 prospect lists a year ago to a consensus pick this spring, including No. 37 in Baseball Prospectus\u2019 Top 100 and No. 27 in Keith Law\u2019s Top 100 list in The Athletic.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great,\u201d said Sale, both seemed happy and proud talking about Baldwin making the Opening Day roster. \u201cI mean, any time you make an Opening Day roster \u2014 getting called to the big leagues is awesome, but starting the year, being able to experience Opening Day is really special.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s put in a lot of work. I mean, he\u2019s really worked his butt off this spring training. A lot of back and forth, he asks a lot of questions. And he\u2019s ready. I mean, I\u2019ve seen it. On both sides of the ball, he\u2019s prepared for this moment. So, we\u2019re excited for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baldwin will turn 24 on March 28, the day after Opening Day, and Sale\u2019s 36th birthday is March 30.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got one more start at 35,\u201d Sale said, laughing.<\/p>\n

Then he turned serious, talking about what it\u2019s meant to be a mentor of sorts for youngsters like Baldwin. Just like teammates did for Sale, a former first-round draft pick who was only 21 when he debuted with the Chicago White Sox in 2010, surrounded by veterans such as pitchers Mark Buehrle, Jake Peavy and Scott Linebrink, catcher A.J. Pierzynski and first baseman Paul Konerko.<\/p>\n

\u201cAgain, I can\u2019t stress enough, the guys that I had when I was young,\u201d Sale said. \u201cI got to the big leagues when I was a young guy, too. And I remember what it meant for older guys to take care of me and kind of show me the ropes and be able to ask them questions. So I\u2019m just trying to do what was done for me, just kind of show them the right way, the wrong way, and if they have any questions, be there for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s appreciated by Baldwin, who\u2019s had mentors in Triple A, including Sandy Leon, whose locker also was next to Baldwin\u2019s this spring, and catchers at spring training, including Murphy and former Brave Travis d\u2019Arnaud. Since Murphy\u2019s injury, the Braves made sure to have Baldwin work with each of their starting pitchers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been awesome,\u201d Baldwin said. \u201cObviously, you never want someone to go down, but being able to work with guys like Sale and Reynaldo (L\u00f3pez) and (Spencer) Schwellenbach and all those guys for an extended period of time in spring training definitely helps a little bit. Just so you\u2019re comfortable with them and start to gain a better relationship with them. And I mean, obviously Sandy and all the other catchers, they\u2019ve helped me a ton and got me to this point.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Snitker gave him the big news, Baldwin said his first phone call was to his mother, Bridgette, back home in Wisconsin. She\u2019s a school teacher in Sauk Prairie, about 40 minutes from where Baldwin grew up in Madison.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sent her a little text first, like, \u2018Hey, do you have time (to talk),’\u201d he said. \u201cBecause I didn\u2019t know if she had started school yet. But I told her and she was pretty fired up. So, she\u2019s going to be out there in San Diego with a couple other people and some friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baldwin was beaming as he shared the interaction with his mom, and how happy he was to be able to tell her nearly a week before the big day, so she could plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer spring break\u2019s that week,\u201d he said, \u201cso it works out perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Photo of Drake Baldwin: Sam Navarro \/ Imagn Images)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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David O’Brien<\/strong> is a senior writer covering the Atlanta Braves for The Athletic. He previously covered the Braves for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and covered the Marlins for eight seasons, including the 1997 World Series championship. He is a two-time winner of the NSMA Georgia Sportswriter of the Year award. Follow David on Twitter @DOBrienATL<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Baldwin will make his major-league debut on Opening Day, catching the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":43161,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[71],"class_list":["post-43160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb","tag-atlanta-braves"],"yoast_head":"\nTop prospect Drake Baldwin makes Braves\u2019 opening roster; Chris Sale says kid is ready - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=43160\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Top prospect Drake Baldwin makes Braves\u2019 opening roster; Chris Sale says kid is ready - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Baldwin will make his major-league debut on Opening Day, catching the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=43160\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-22T00:53:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/avtvip-97-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MrThanh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MrThanh\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=43160\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=43160\",\"name\":\"Top prospect Drake Baldwin makes Braves\u2019 opening roster; 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