It has been a tough year for Sean Murphy in 2024. He suffered an oblique injury on Opening Day and was out until the end of May. He returned around the same time Ronald Acuna Jr. was being placed on the IL with a season-ending knee injury.
However, since his return from injury, Murph has never been able to return to his 2023 self. That has been the story for much of the 2024 Atlanta Braves squad. Sean has been great behind the dish which is to be expected. He's a fantastic defender.
Unfortunately, his offense leaves so much to be desired. Injury can play a part in players not being able to get back in a groove fast enough but Atlanta's backstop hasn't found much success at all. Travis d'Arnaud has been used more often as he had been more consistent offensively but don't go look at his stats since the beginning of August. Trust me, it's rough.
Murphy is batting .202 on the season with nine homers and 23 RBI through 67 games. He batted .211 in the first half and .193 in the second half. However, his average in September has been putrid at .097 through nine games played. Sean has a good walk rate but his strikeout rate is higher than it needs to be and that's most of his issue this year.
His underperformance could provide one of Atlanta's top prospects with an opportunity next season. Now, the Braves aren't going to cut ties with Sean Murphy. That would be foolish. He still has value but his struggles combined with Drake Baldwin's offensive explosion in 2024 could force them to platoon Murphy with the budding prospect.
This also assumes the Braves don't exercise Travis d'Arnaud's club option for next season as well. If they choose to bring TDA back, it wouldn't make a lot of sense to platoon Murphy and Baldwin. For our argument, let's assume Travis doesn't return next season.
Drake Baldwin, Atlanta's fifth-ranked prospect, has caught a lot of people's attention with his performance through 120 games (52 in Double-A and 68 in Triple-A). However, his season didn't start as impressively with a .244 average with Double-A Mississippi including four homers and 33 RBI. Once Baldwin was promoted to Triple-A Gwinnett, that changed immediately.
Baldwin has slugged his way to a line of .295/.406/.484 with an .809 OPS. He has 76 hits including 11 doubles, 12 home runs, 54 RBI, 50 walks, and 50 strikeouts.
He could provide the Braves with a much-needed offensive boost next season. Baldwin continues to see pitches well as he has the exact amount of walks to strikeouts. He has good arm strength and receives the ball well behind the plate.
It wouldn't be a terrible idea to let Baldwin get an opportunity in 2025 and be a backup for Murphy if he's unable to figure things out and get fully healthy. Sean is set to begin making $15 million next season and is signed through 2028. So, why not give Drake Baldwin a chance to show if he's ready to leap to the MLB level?