Atlanta Braves catcher Drake Baldwin has been named the 2025 National League Rookie of the Year, beating out Chicago Cubs pitcher Cade Horton for the award. Baldwin, Horton and Milwaukee Brewers infielder Caleb Durbin were the three finalists for the rookie honor.
Baldwin finished with 21 of the 30 total first-place votes. Horton finished in second, earning nine first-place votes.
Baldwin, who was drafted by Atlanta in 2022, made the Braves’ Opening Day roster at the start of the 2025 season after three years of minor-league ball. He finished the year with a .274 average and .810 OPS in 405 at-bats; he had 111 hits and 19 home runs.
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Throughout the year, the 24-year-old catcher established himself as one of the Braves’ best hitters, sitting just below team stalwarts like right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. and first baseman Matt Olson in most hitting categories.
That performance happened in a year when Baldwin saw his time on the field slightly limited: he played in 124 games this season but started in 97, sharing time with veteran catcher Sean Murphy. Eighty-five of those games had Baldwin behind the plate; for the other matchups, he started 12 games as the Braves’ designated hitter.
Baldwin becomes the second Braves catcher to win Rookie of the Year after Earl Williams, who earned the honor in 1971. In all, Baldwin is the eighth Brave to win the award, and the third in the past decade: Acuña Jr. won the honor in 2018, and center fielder Michael Harris II won it in 2022.
