Springfield Standard

Former Missouri State University catcher Drake Baldwin has been named the 2025 National League Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Baldwin, now playing for the Atlanta Braves, is the second Missouri State player to win this award, following Ryan Howard in 2005.

Baldwin secured 21 out of 30 first-place votes, narrowly surpassing Chicago Cubs pitcher Cade Horton for the honor.

In his debut season with Atlanta, Baldwin was the opening-day starting catcher and appeared in 124 games. He posted a .274 batting average, hit 19 home runs, and recorded 80 RBIs. Among National League rookies who played at least 100 games, he led in RBIs (80), batting average (.274), OPS (.810), and slugging percentage (.469). He ranked second in home runs (19) and total bases (190).

Baldwin became one of only seven rookie catchers since 1947 to achieve at least 35 extra-base hits and 78 RBIs in a season, and was the first to reach these marks since Geovany Soto in 2008. His RBI total was also the highest for a Braves rookie since Chipper Jones achieved it in 1995.

Originally from Madison, Wisconsin, Baldwin was drafted by Atlanta as the 96th overall pick in the third round of the 2022 MLB Draft. This selection made him Missouri State's highest-drafted catcher.

During his draft year at Missouri State University, Baldwin had a standout season with a .341 batting average, matching his professional home run tally with 19 and collecting 70 RBIs—tied for seventh on Missouri State’s single-season record list. He reached base safely in all but three of his team’s games that year and finished with a .448 on-base percentage while helping lead his team to an NCAA Regional appearance. Over his college career at Missouri State, he batted .317 with a total of 24 home runs, drove in 104 runs, collected 51 extra-base hits over 120 games played, and achieved a .994 career fielding percentage—the second-highest mark in school history.

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