Under the Radar: The Next Catcher Who Will be Drafted in the 2nd Round

While he’s not available on any waiver wires – in fact, he’s rostered in 99% of Fantrax leagues at the time of writing – Atlanta Braves catcher Drake Baldwin is quickly turning into the 2026 version of Cal Raleigh. After Raleigh was routinely being drafted in the eighth and ninth rounds in 2025, he went on to have the best offensive season a catcher has ever seen.

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Drake Baldwin is the next catcher who will be drafted in the second round, and it will happen next year.

Finding fantasy production at catcher can be easier said than done, especially in deep leagues or two-catcher leagues. Cal Raleigh, Salvador Perez, and William Contreras have been among the few consistent catchers for fantasy managers over the last three years. With Raleigh and Perez starting slowly in 2026, it’s names like Drake Baldwin, Shea Langeliers, and Ben Rice that are taking over, but Baldwin has been the best overall

Baldwin, whose ADP hovered around 105 this season, is well-positioned to go from a 10th-round pick this year to a second-round pick in fantasy baseball. Here’s why he will continue to soar up the fantasy ranks this season.

Why Drake Baldwin Will Be a Top-24 Draft Pick in 2027

Drake Baldwin is entering his age-26 season, a time when many catchers reach their prime. With Sean Murphy hurt, he’s a fixture in the Braves’ lineup, even on days he does not catch. Baldwin has hit second every game this season and has been the DH on the days he does not catch. Despite being drafted outside the top 100 overall in many drafts, Baldwin could easily finish in the top 25 this year.

Let’s dive deeper into why Baldwin is off to such a hot start right now in fantasy baseball.

Drake Baldwin’s Rookie Season Hinted at His Upside

Drake Baldwin’s 2025 rookie season (129 games) offered a strong start that hinted at significant offensive upside. Across 446 plate appearances, Baldwin posted a 125 wRC+, a mark that immediately placed him among the most productive players at the position. That production wasn’t fluky, either; his .351 wOBA and .353 xwOBA were nearly identical, suggesting his quality of plate appearances supported his results.

Daily Drake highlight! #BravesCountry pic.twitter.com/MAMHWQkSgC

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) April 7, 2026

This synergy between expected and actual outcomes is often a key indicator of sustainable performance, reinforcing the idea that Baldwin’s offensive breakout was real rather than something as a result of luck, or something that can’t be repeated.

Baldwin’s Statcast profile showed upside as well. He recorded a 91.7 mph average exit velocity and a 49.6% hard-hit rate, along with an 11.0% barrel rate. His strong 15.2% strikeout rate, combined with solid power output, was also encouraging. Baldwin wasn’t producing power combined with strikeouts. He was making good contact often. But what he is doing in 2026 improves on these strong metrics from last season.

Baldwin Has Improved His Power and Bat Speed

Despite already being in the top third of hitters in batting run value, exit velocity, barrel rate, bat speed, and whiff rate in 2025, Baldwin has improved on every single one of those metrics in the small sample size of the 2026 season.

Baldwin is now in the 95th percentile or better in batting value, expected slugging percentage, strikeout rate, and bat speed. Those improved advanced metrics have directly led to his National League-leading five home runs and 13 RBI. He also has a .682 slugging percentage (eighth-best in all of baseball), and he has an OPS over 1.000.

His improved bat speed has also helped cut down his strikeouts to an elite level. So far, Baldwin is only striking out in 6.7% of his plate appearances. It’s a long way to go, but if he were to stay around 7% for the season, he would be the first catcher to be under 10% since Victor Martinez (9.6%) in 2018, when he was actually a primary designated hitter.

Atlanta Provides an Elite Lineup Around Baldwin

The Atlanta Braves are off to a good start with the bats in 2026 (despite getting shut down by Jose Soriano on Monday night, who only allowed a home run to….yep, Drake Baldwin). So far, in addition to Baldwin, the Braves have three other players with a wRC+ over 125 Baldwin is at 181). That means at least 40% of their lineup is more than 25% better than league average.

Atlanta Braves stats in the first 8 games of the season pic.twitter.com/aDAHRd0s4p

— DRAKE 🌧 (@BALDWIN4MVP) April 4, 2026

The scary thing about that number is it doesn’t include Ronald Acuna Jr. or Austin Riley, who are both off to slow starts. If their production picks up in the days to come, this could quickly become the most potent lineup in all of baseball.

And to reemphasize, Baldwin does not have a lineup spot in the bottom half of the order, like most catchers. He hits second in this lineup, and he has played literally every day. For a catcher, you can’t ask for more.

Baldwin’s Expected Numbers Show This Could Get Even Better

But while we can’t really ask for more, it is possible we could get even more. Despite a current .318 batting average and a .625 slugging percentage (heading into Monday, it’s now .682), Baldwin expected statistics in both categories are higher, according to Statcast.

In fact, despite already having a .437 wOBA, one of the best marks in baseball, Statcast believes that number should be even higher. Based on his hard hit rate and bat speed, they peg him as the eighth-best hitter in baseball.

Top Hitters by Expected wOBA (xwOBA), According to Statcast:

1. Yordan Alvarez (.615)
2. Ben Rice (.514)
3. Francisco Alvarez (.502)
4. Dominic Canzone (.500)
5. Sal Stewart (.480)
6. Luke Raley (.470)
7. Dillon Dingler (.468)
8. Drake Baldwin (.461)

Interesting, there are four catchers on this list. But Baldwin is one of the few who are underperforming where the stats say his numbers should be, while others are outperforming their metrics.

You can also just look at Baldwin’s .242 BABIP this year (career .285) to see how unlucky he has been despite all of the success this year. So far, the league average for BABIP is .288, so if he even gets close to that number, we will see Baldwin go up another level.

Through the first week and a half, it’s all working for him. I’m here to tell you this is going to continue all season long, health permitting, and Drake Baldwin is going to be drafted in the second round in 2027.