Chipper Jones Sees An Elite Level for Drake Baldwin in 2026

The Atlanta Braves are opening their 2026 season at Truist Park on Friday night, and they have one of the most promising young players in baseball at the forefront.

Drake Baldwin, the reigning National League Rookie of the Year, is gearing up to build on his breakout season from last season. The catcher slashed .274/.341/.469 with a 0.810 OPS with 19 home runs, 18 doubles, and 80 RBI. He ran away with the award, securing 21 of the 30 first-place votes.

Despite the strong season, Hall of Fame third baseman Chipper Jones still thinks there is another level that Baldin can achieve this season.

“I think he’s going to come in and make the statement this year, at least he’s shown in spring training that he is not far from becoming the best catcher in baseball,” Jones said. “And that’s the thing that surprised me: coming up, I knew that the bat was going to play. Man, I did not realize how well he works behind the plate. Not just calling a game, but catching and throwing and taking leadership roles out there at such a young age. It was really good thing to see from him, and the surprising part from last year.”

While the stats are ultimately still meaningless, the catcher got out to a hot start in spring training last month. Baldwin slashed .349/.391/.674 with a 1.066 OPS with two home runs and 12 RBI. He will slot in the designated hitter role on Friday night, but he is expected to be a regular in the No. 2 slot in a star-studded Braves lineup.

To Jones, the clear confidence in the (soon to be) 25 year old is emblematic of the sheer hitting ability he brings to the plate.

“He’s everything that I like to teach, approach-wise, as a hitter,” Jones said. “He is sitting something hard, middle-away, I’m going to rifle this thing to left-center field for a double. If they hang the changeup or the slider for a strike, that’s the one that I put into right center. You’ve got to have a good bat path, and, man, his bat is in the zone for a long time – sometimes you can’t even see the ball come off of the bat because it stays in the zone so long.”

Will Smith, Cal Raleigh, Alejandro Kirk, and William Contreras are some of the many players who could take home the title of ‘best in baseball.’ Baldwin is still another dominant season away from hearing his name called alongside those players, but that should be more than enough to get Braves fans excited about what he could do in the future.

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