5 surprising prospects who will shine at Braves spring training
By Eric Cole
Drake Baldwin
The sad reality right now is that Travis d'Arnaud appears to finally be running out of gas. While some of his struggles last season could be attributed to the concussion he suffered early on in 2023, but the fact remains that TdA is 34 years old, doesn't really control the running game all that well, and has posted a sub-.700 OPS in two of the past three seasons. That is why it was decidedly curious that the Braves were so aggressive in promoting their third round pick in the 2022 draft, Drake Baldwin, last year.
In terms of pure upside combined with proximity to the major leagues, Baldwin is the surest bet to contribute in the big leagues that the Braves have. He spent the bulk of his time at high-A Rome in 2023, but he also made cameo appearances in Double-A and Triple-A last season where he played well. Altogether, he put up an .844 OPS with 16 homers. While he won't break camp with the team unless TdA or Sean Murphy get hurt and even a 2024 debut may be an optimistic guess, a strong spring training performance could cement his status as the frontrunner to be d'Arnaud's replacement when his time with the Braves comes to an end.
Drue Hackenburg
When the Braves picked Drue Hackenburg in the second round of the 2023 draft, it raised a lot of eyebrows as he wasn't a particularly highly regarded draft prospect by most publications and his college numbers weren't all that great. He throws in the low to mid-90's, has a good slider, and gets a lot of ground balls. On the surface, that isn't traditionally the recipe for a high draft pick.
However, he seemed to reward the Braves' faith in his pro debut with a 1.42 ERA in very limited time on the mound last season. Assuming Hackenburg gets a good look this spring, we should get some answers. If he shows out and continues to miss bats, the Braves will look very smart and he could move through the minor leagues quickly as a college arm. If not, the questions about why the Braves picked him so highly are going to get even louder.