Braves Drake Baldwin Losing Ground in NL Rookie of the Year Race

The race for the National League Rookie of the Year is entering the home stretch, with Atlanta Braves catcher Drake Baldwin needing a last-ditch effort to stay ahead.

ESPN recently released its favorites for MLB award season, and Baldwin is considered second behind Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Isaac Collins for Rookie of the Year.

As recently as mid-August, Baldwin was looking like a runaway favorite. MLB.com writers named him a strong favorite with 24 first-place votes. At the time, Marlins catcher Austin Ramirez was second with four first-place votes, and Collins came in third with three first-place votes.

It's a reminder of how things can change on a dime.

The projects are based on ESPN betting odds. Collins has -145 odds with Baldwin right behind him at +125.

Both Baldwin and Collins have been slumping over the last week, so it's not like one is surging ahead with a strong performance. Ultimately, it could come down to two things: How their teams are doing and playing time.

The Brewers have the best record in the Major Leagues and have been one of the hostest teams in baseball for the last couple of months. After sitting at 25-28 on May 24, they rattled off an eight-game winning streak and haven't looked back.

Milwaukee now sits with an 81-49 record, and is the only team with 80 wins or more so far this season. The American League-leading Detroit Tigers are the next closest at 78 wins.

On the flip side, the Atlanta Braves' recent winning streak has simply been delaying the inevitable. They entered Sunday with a 58-71 record and sat 11 games behind the New York Mets. Even when one player might be having an objectively better year, many are going to look to the guy making an impact on a playoff team.

That does make a difference a lot of the time.

Collins is also an everyday player, while Baldwin is platooning with Sean Murphy. He was seeing everyday action for a time, but after Marcell Ozuna started showing life again, the Braves stopped using both catchers in the lineup with one at designated hitter.

When the stats are similar enough, these tiebreakers can take effect.

In 325 plate appearances so , Baldwin is batting .277 with a .791 OPS, 13 home runs, 57 RBIs and 120 OPS+. Meanwhile, in 357 plate appearances so far, Collins is batting .274 with a .799 OPS, eight home runs, 43 RBIs and a 124 OPS+.

It's far from over, and both hitters will likely be finalists when it's all said and done. However, Baldwin's far from a surefire winner anymore.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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