The Braves organization has produced some amazing catchers over the last several years. Unfortunately, they don’t play for the home team in Atlanta.
William Contreras was traded for Sean Murphy a couple of offseasons ago. It was supposed to be an upgrade for the Braves, but the young Contreras has blossomed into arguably the best catcher in baseball, while Murphy has been almost unplayable for going on a year-and-a-half.
The Athletics Shea Langeliers also came over from the Braves organization in the deal that netted Matt Olson. Langeliers hasn’t burst onto the scene quite like Contreras, but in his second full season with the big-league club, he blasted 29 homers, recorded a .739 OPS and 2.9 WAR.
Safe to say, the Braves would have been a thousand times better off behind the plate if they’d just stuck with their homegrown talent. But the past is the past, and what matters now is the future of the position, which could be top prospect Drake Baldwin.
If it weren’t for Spencer Schwellenbach, Baldwin would have been the star of the 2024 prospect class. He began the year a little slowly in AA, but things really took a turn once he was promoted to AAA. In Gwinnett, he hits .298 with 12 homers and an .891 OPS over 72 games.
However, sometimes numbers don’t do a prospect justice. While Baldwin’s numbers with the Stripers were terrific, watching him play is equally as impressive. He possesses incredible power to all fields, is willing to take his walks, and doesn’t strikeout much. Baldwin walked (52 times) nearly as much as he struck out (54 times) in AAA.
This is a 23-year-old that appears to be on the cusp of being major-league ready. The only issue? There’s no room for him in Atlanta. The Braves have already made their intentions clear with Travis d’Arnaud. His $8 million option will be picked up for next season, and it shouldn’t surprise anyone if they gave him another team option for 2026.
Sean Murphy is under contract through 2028 with a club option for 2029. The Braves could always dangle him out in the trade market, but selling now would be selling extremely low on an asset they invested so heavily in just a couple of years ago. I highly doubt that’s in the cards.
Having three high-level catchers in an organization is never a bad thing. However, the Braves have been in this exact same situation multiple times, and they handled it abysmally. It’s imperative they get it right this time. The future of the position depends on it.
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Photographer: Larry Radloff/Icon Sportswire
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