Thursday’s come-from-behind, 8-6 win against the upstart Marlins was not indicative of how the devastatingly disappointing 2025 season has gone for the Braves overall. It was fun, however, and hopefully a sign of things to come next year.
The Braves went into the bottom of the sixth inning at Truist Park trailing 6-2 and seemingly headed to their fourth straight loss and fifth in six games so far this month. NL Rookie of the Year favorite Drake Baldwin wasn’t having any more of it.
Drake Baldwin Boosts ROTY Candidacy
After getting the Braves’ offense off to a quick start with a solo homer in the first frame, Baldwin stepped to the plate against Marlins starting pitcher Eury Perez again with two on and none out in the sixth. What happened next was a career first for Baldwin.
Drake Baldwin's 2nd homer of the night is a 3-run blast that brings the @Braves within one 💥 pic.twitter.com/YtMdmq2t2j
— MLB (@MLB) August 8, 2025
Baldwin’s second shot of the night, which put his first multi-HR game in the books, put the Braves right back in the contest at 6-5. He wasn’t done yet.
In the very next inning, Baldwin tied the game up at six a side with an opposite-field RBI single. The breakout backstop wrapped up the night 3 for 5 with two home runs and five RBI, continuing his march toward some potential post-season hardware.
Ahead of the Pack
The two deep drives Thursday were the first for Baldwin since the All-Star break, but that does not mean he had been struggling by any means. Over 70 plate appearances in the second half, the 24-year-old slugger now sports a .313 AVG, .871 OPS, and 144 wRC+. Those are all exceptional marks.
For the season, Baldwin is hitting .287 with 13 homers and 46 RBI over 83 games. He’s added 11 doubles along with solid on-base (.356) and slugging (.484) percentages. Finally, Baldwin has played good defense at one of the toughest positions on the diamond, recording a .996 fielding percentage with five defensive runs saved above average to this point.
All of that has combined to place Baldwin on top of the NL Rookie of the Year odds, edging out Brewers outfielder Isaac Collins and Miami slugger Agustin Ramirez. For Braves fans looking to get excited about literally anything down the stretch, this race should be tight to the end.