Braves' Drake Baldwin receives wild Cal Raleigh prediction after breakout rookie season

The Atlanta Braves have a lot of great players who can make the case for being the best at their positions. Chris Sale is a fantastic starting pitcher, Ronald Acuna Jr. is a superstar outfielder, and Matt Olson is one of the best first basemen in baseball.

Those are the three clear superstars on the roster, and players like Austin Riley and Ozzie Albies are great starters as well. But what about catcher Drake Baldwin? He's a great player, but can he lay claim to being the best at his position? Likely not.

However, The Athletic's Eno Sarris is predicting that by the end of the 2026 MLB season, Baldwin will take the mantle of MLB's top catcher from Seattle Mariners superstar Cal Raleigh.

Drake Baldwin predicted to be MLB's best catcher

"Drake Baldwin emerges as MLB's top catcher," Sarris predicts. "This guy does everything right. Seriously, Baldwin does not have an obvious flaw. The 24-year-old Atlanta Braves catcher has pristine peripherals."

Baldwin being predicted to have a good 2026 season is hardly a bold prediction. But, for Sarris to predict that the young Braves catcher will be the best at his position after the 2026 season is an incredibly bold prediction to make.

Raleigh just hit 60 home runs and helped lead the Mariners to Game 7 of the ALCS. For Baldwin, in just his second season in the Majors, to surpass Raleigh would be a wild outcome for the 2026 season.

While Badlwin might not be the best defender, neither was Raleigh when he was just starting out his career in the Major Leagues.

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The braves 2025 NL Rookie of the Year becoming baseball's best catcher would be a wild storyline for the 2026 MLB season.

There's no denying that he's a good player. But, the best catcher in baseball? That's a whole other level for Baldwin to reach.

But that's what makes this prediction from Sarris a bold one. Baldwin had a .274 batting average, 3.3 bWAR, and 19 home runs last year in 124 games played while splitting time with Sean Murphy.

His .810 OPS was a great number for his first year in the Majors, and if he can add a bit more power and get on base a bit more often than the .341 on-base percentage he had last year, then Baldwin could be in store for an All-Star caliber season.

Sarris is predicting the lefty-hitting catcher becomes the best catcher in baseball, better than Raleigh, Will Smith, and every other star catcher across the league. It's an incredibly bold prediction, and one that the Braves would love to come true.

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