One of the biggest surprises when it comes to the Atlanta Braves this season has been the play of Drake Baldwin. Almost everyone agreed that he was a good catching prospect, but it felt like the Braves were handing the lion's share of the playing time behind the plate to Sean Murphy after they let Travis d'Arnaud leave in free agency. However, Murphy's rib injury at the start of the season opened the door for Baldwin and now the Braves have themselves quite a playing time situation on their hands.
With Baldwin seemingly hitting his way into the Rookie of the Year race through the season's first two months, it is clear that Atlanta wants to give Baldwin more playing time than he had before. However, with the word that the Braves are going to be sitting Baldwin against lefties during their series against the Nationals, it is clear that the team is going far enough.
The Braves need to give Drake Baldwin true primary catching duties regardless of handedness
One can understand the point of view that Atlanta wants to keep Murphy fresh. He hasn't played badly upon his return from the IL and has had some big home runs even as he has struggled to make consistent contact. The problem is that Baldwin is just a strictly better player right now. You can look to Tuesday night's loss to Washington as an example. Atlanta played Murphy against a subpar lefty starter and he still ended the night 0-4.
Meanwhile, Baldwin and his .983 OPS languished on the bench. Yes, he isn't as dangerous against lefties albeit from a small sample, but this is a guy that you are going to want to be able to deploy regardless of who is on the mound or what arm they throw with. Baldwin needs reps against lefties and Murphy needs to see some righties to stay fresh as well. Go ahead and Baldwin most of the playing time, but play Murphy every fourth day at catcher or if it is a day game after a late game the night before.
What this feels like is that the Braves want to replicate their previous catching tandems where both players got plenty of playing time and both excelled. That is a wonderful theory, but the reality is that Baldwin is playing too well right now to bench very often and Atlanta is leaving offense on the table doing what they are doing.