#drake-baldwin

#drake-baldwin

It was just announced this morning that the Major League Baseball Player's Association (MLBPA) has named Ronald Acuña Jr. "Comeback Player of the Year." And breakout rookie Drake Baldwin received the "Outstanding Rookie" award. If you can recall, Acuña's return to Truist started out (on the very first pitch) with a solo shot to left field back in May. This had the crowd erupting and at once gaining the hope that the offense has turned around for the season.

The young righty threw a lot of pitches in this one, as it took 102 pitches to get through 5.2 innings, but the splitter was working. Waldrep got whiffs on 52% (13 of 25 swings) of his splitters, and he ended up with 9 strikeouts on the evening. The Philadelphia Phillies clearly struggled to figure out what the pitch was doing, and Waldrep looked every part the former first-round pick. He ran into really only a couple of issues.

Baldwin's maturity and ability to stay ready in a limited role raises questions about whether consistent playing time is essential for his development.