Drake Baldwin Has a Path to Being the Best Offensive Catcher in Baseball

Why his evolving power, plate discipline, and playing time give him a real shot to lead the position

The catching position is undergoing a renaissance in Major League Baseball.

Traditionally the realm of defensive specialists with a much lower offensive bar, we’ve seen some dynamic and awe-inspiring offensive seasons from behind the plate in recent years.

Seattle Mariners backstop Cal Raleigh hit 60 homers and drove in 125 last year, finishing as the runner-up for American League MVP. Will Smith of the Los Angeles Dodgers hit .296 with an OPS over .900, remaining in contention for the batting title until a late season injury prevented him from qualifying on leaderboards.

Despite both of those players being primed for a repeat of their amazing seasons, I have a bit of a hot take:

Drake Baldwin is the best offensive catcher in baseball after this season.

Let’s talk about it.

A special rookie season

Baldwin’s rookie season, which culminated in the first NL Rookie of the Year award for a catcher since Buster Posey won it in 2010, was virtually wire-to-wire domination. After a .731 OPS in the month of April as he got his feet underneath him, Baldwin posted a 1.003 OPS in May and maintained an OPS over .800 in each of the final three months of the season.

And that April figure hides the quality of his contact early in the schedule - Baldwin’s hard-hit rate of 68.3% in April was his highest of any month, but his .404 slug was the worst of the schedule. He was the victim of some poor batted ball luck, with an expected slug of .483 representing a 79-point spread that was very much not in his favor.

Starting pitcher Chris Sale actually addressed Baldwin’s early batted ball luck after the catcher won the award, crediting the youngster for his composure in the face of his bad luck. “Coming out of the first month, [Baldwin’s] numbers weren’t great, but some of the peripherals were really jumping out. He probably had more 100 miles-per-hour-hit baseballs [than anyone] with nothing to show for it. The frustration could be overwhelming. You could take it out on defense, which he never did. For a guy to be able to overcome that start and excel behind the plate, it’s special.”

Among all National League rookies, Baldwin was either first or second in fWAR (3.1, 1st), batting average (.274, 2nd), home runs (19, 2nd), OPS (.810, 2nd), and wRC+ (125, 2nd).

But I think he can be even better in year two.